Juxtaposition
by linggan
Summary: Cloud finds himself back to when he just failed the SOLDIER exam.  Sephiroth finds himself with a new secretary. Oh dear.
1. 1 cloud falls through the rabbithole

Summary: Cloud finds himself back when he just failed the SOLDIER exam. Sephiroth finds himself with a new secretary. Oh dear.

Note:** This story will be told in short chapters**. After reading forthright's Clutter (check it out btw if you're interested in Inuyasha, it's wonderful), I wanted to try something similar. I'm not going to be doing the whole 100-word per chapter thing, as I'm definitely not at the skill level to effectively tell a story with so few words yet, haha. Instead, I've decided to do **one scene per chapter**. So no, this will definitely not be an epic long story on the level of imushi's Green Dreams or Sinnatious' The Fifth Act. Sigh, if only I was that good.

Anyway, enjoy!

**ch1: cloud falls through the rabbit-hole**

Lately, he had been having the same dream over and over.

Not that he's remembered what the dreams had been about, but the feeling when he woke up, that wispy touch of urgency and determination leaving him as whatever disjointed remnants of a plotline left his mind when reality entered, it was always the same feeling. He would try to grasp at the story, feeling like if he just closed his eyes again and thought about it a bit harder, he might just touch it and everything might just come back to him. But nothing. Just that nagging feeling, coiling to the bottom of his stomach, hidden but still there, promising him that there was _something _left for him to do...

Cloud didn't think too much of it; he knew there were times that his grasp of reality was a tad... delicate. Not to say he was insane (though he wasn't denying either), but there would be times he would see a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye and immediately twitch towards the direction as if he would find the blade of a sword of a certain distinctive man right there behind him. Sometimes, when people asked for his name or age, he would almost blurt out the wrong number or name, catching the offending phrase at the tip of the tongue just as he remembered he was Cloud, not anyone else, just Cloud. He still had flashes of memory of living in a tank of mako, never really alive but never really dead. But he never told anyone about it, and just went on.

And then, one day, he woke up in the cold silver and wood structure of a bunk bed.

Immediately, his eyes swept the place when he realized he wasn't in the same bed that he had lied in the night before, looking for possible weapons, escape routes, wondering why the room seemed so_ oddly _familiar-maybe this was yet another dream of his?-when he realized there was someone calling his name.

"Cloud? Hey man. Are you awake?"

Looking to his right, he suddenly noticed the boy standing there, waiting. There was a look of shame, concern, and utter discomfort on his face as he looked at everything but Cloud's face. It was obvious the boy wanted to be anywhere but there. But... who was he? And how did he know him?

Cloud stayed silent and waited. In situations like this, where he didn't have any information, usually this was the best tactic. People assumed what they wanted to hear and on lucky, rare occasions, would fill in the blanks. In fact, the boy didn't even look like he wanted to hear Cloud's response, just that he wanted to escape as soon as possible.

"Look, um, I'm sorry about yesterday. About everything. Especially, yeah," he made a vague gesture towards Cloud's head, "your hair. Here-it's some money to compensate for a good decent haircut."

_Hair_? As if that wasn't the most random thing... What _about_ his hair?

At Cloud's lack of response, the boy continued to talk. "Also, it's real unfortunate that you didn't get in. I mean, you can always try next year? Right? Just aim for that; I'm sure you'll get into SOLDIER next year. Yeah, maybe I'll see you around."

Without a look back, the boy immediately left Cloud alone in the room. Well, as if that hadn't been the oddest apology... and for what? Hair? No, there was definitely something else in that speech that Cloud had just missed.

Cloud crossed his legs and looked at the wall opposite him thoughtfully as he went over the words.

Wait.

Did the boy just say _SOLDIER?_


	2. 2 sephiroth starts a game of chess

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII. Sighh.

Note: Wow! I can't believe the response I've had for that short first chapter! I can only hope the rest of the story lives up to your expectations, especially since it's so slow to start. All the people who reviewed, favourited, added this story to their alerts, you guys have all made my _week._

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, all feedback and criticism is greatly appreciated~

**ch2: sephiroth starts a game of chess**

It wasn't the most ideal of environments admittedly, but when Sephiroth found Tseng (for some curious reason that he probably _really _didn't want to know) walking down the empty hallway of the cadets bunks, he took his chance and intervened in the man's path.

"Tseng," Sephiroth started, "do you have a minute?"

The man raised his eyes to meet Sephiroth's with barely a twitch; if anything, Tseng had to be given credit for that flawless poker face. But in this moment, Sephiroth was a little too annoyed to be impressed. "Of course," the man responds, far too calmly. "What's on your mind?"

Sephiroth didn't even waste a second. "I _don't_ appreciate having a 'secretary' being forced upon me," he said, voice low and swinging on the edge of dangerous. "And a Turk, no less. It's uncalled for."

Tseng didn't even bay an eye at man's ire. "Turk is a bit too extreme a word; Elena is only a trainee at this point. Besides, Chairman Heidegger seems to think otherwise."

"And why _does _Heidegger believe I need someone to watch over me?" Sephiroth could barely contain his scoff. "I even found written weekly reports on me on Elena's computer. A rookie mistake, by the way, which you should correct her of."

Tseng nodded. "Of course," he acknowledged. "However, you can't say the Chairman's... _concern_ isn't unfounded."

Sephiroth nearly snorted at the man's use of words. If there was a way to describe the reasons for the Heidegger's paranoia, _concern_ certainly wasn't one of them. Yet Tseng had a point. His mind stubbornly brought up memories of Angeal and Genesis, and though Sephiroth hadn't really wanted to think about what had happened recently, he couldn't have really fooled himself into thinking that it wouldn't effect how people would look at and treat him.

In fact, he should have been more suspicious when he had suddenly been given a new secretary for no reason, especially when he had lasted quite well the past few years without one. But to think she was actually the newest Turk recruit? Who was placed to look over him? If he hadn't found her that one night looking through his files, who knows how long she might have been planted there, looking at his every move. As if he needed _another_ person to do just that.

"Even in light of recent events, I would think my record speaks for itself. My performance has been as consistent as it has always been. The Chairman has no reason for worry." Sephiroth kept most of the venom out of his voice, but kept his gaze fixed on Tseng nonetheless, daring him to disagree.

The man shrugged nonchalantly. "Then you should talk to him. I have no power in this matter."

"Is that so? I would think the Turks have better things to do than play baby-sitter."

The other man's straight face broke, if just for a split-second, and a dangerous look flashed across his eyes before returning to their usual dull calm. "If it pleases you, I will recommend to the Chairman to not choose another Turk as replacement."

Before the plan had fully formed in his head, Sephiroth quickly responded, "I think it would only be fair if I get to choose the replacement as well."

Tseng cocked his head curiously. "Do you have someone in mind?"

To be honest, he really didn't, but at the same time he didn't want Heidegger to have a choice either-who knows who it could be next time. Instead, he wanted someone that he wouldn't have to worry about having ulterior motives, or even better, someone who he could manipulate and control until he was able to find a way to force the President to remove the position altogether...

Sephiroth opened his mouth, about to somehow ask for a day to decide when suddenly, he caught sight of a cadet who had just turned the corner and was walking down the hallway. The boy's head was low, almost as if not wanting to be too conspicuous in the middle of such a conversation, leaving Sephiroth a good look at his messy and oddly styled, straw-yellow hair... in fact, Sephiroth _recognized_ that ridiculous hairstyle. He remembered that while monitoring the SOLDIER exams, this kid, in particular, had been _horrendous,_ the highlight being when a blade that was aimed for someone else entirely had instead hacked through the chocobo-like hair of this poor kid.

And honestly, who could forget a name like _Cloud Strife_?

Before the cadet could get away, Sephiroth took a hold of his collar and put him in front of Tseng.

"This boy. Cadet Cloud Strife. I recommend him for the job."


	3. 3 cloud is winning when it comes to

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII.

Note: Still a little slow... haha, but I hope you enjoy reading~

**ch3: cloud is winning when it comes to interviews**

Still in numbingly disbelieving shock from realizing that he had _somehow gone back to his cadet days_, as soon as Cloud heard Tseng's low murmur, even without looking at the other participant in the conversation, he knew he did _not _want to be a part of that dialogue and immediately bowed his head as to keep inconspicuous.

What his luck anyway, to run into a Turk the first thing when he leaves his bunk.

Still, it wasn't hard to ignore the man's presence, as Cloud was already consumed with his own thoughts. What was this anyway? Hallucination? Really prolonged dream?

... Had he finally become truly insane?

And yet everything he felt seemed so real, in fact, overwhelmingly so; the air around him was chillingly cold, the uniform he wore horribly stiff and constricting, the lighting bright yet impersonal. The pain from where he had pinched himself rather hardjust minutes ago was still throbbing as he walked, yet it somehow provided him a small relief from his cycling thoughts.

Because what if this _was _real? What if-what if he had truly been given an opportunity to change things, make them better or-at least, save some lives-but what could he do? Where would he begin to start? Without the support system of friends and allies he had built up over the years, what power did he even have? He didn't even have the mako enhancements that made his fighting style effective and unique to himself-in this situation, he was truly, utterly, powerless.

Well, if it was even real.

And somewhere, deep down, despite all the setbacks and disadvantages, he really wanted to believe it was, would give _anything _for this chance to be real. Even if...

And suddenly there was a hand grabbing onto his collar.

And suddenly there was a voice that Cloud had _never _thought he would hear again.

"This boy. Cadet Cloud Strife. I recommend him for the job."

Through pure, murderous, gut instinct, Cloud jumped and immediately tried to reach First Tsurugi, remembering a split-second later as his hand reached empty air, that obviously, his blade would not be there. Quickly turning the motion into as if he had originally meant to cross his arms awkwardly, Cloud turned and slowly brings his eyes up, taking in the vision of boots and leather and _yes_, that was the Masamune, and finally, looked at his captor in the face.

Meticulous steel-silver hair. A sharp face. Cyan eyes.

It took his every ounce of willpower to just stand there quietly and keep a straight face as he looked the man in the eye. All of a sudden, the silence is suddenly filled by a rushing of noises and memories playing before his eyes, everything suddenly numb as a white rage filled him.

_Sephiroth_.

Cloud barely registered the words that were directed towards him.

"Cadet Strife, how do you feel about a job?"

After that, Cloud wasn't really sure what happened. In fact, he couldn't even remember what the conversation had even been about. All he could vaguely recall was nodding and mumbling out some autopilot reply as he tried to get his feelings under control, repeating the same two arguments to himself as he did so: the man in front of him was not the same person that killed everyone (_but could be_, his mind had oh-so-helpfully supplied) and at this condition, this was not a battle he had a _hell_'s chance of winning.

It was only when Cloud turned to follow Tseng to the HR Dept and Sephiroth had finally disappeared from his field of vision did he finally calm down and actually comprehend the words coming out of Tseng's mouth; finally taking notice of the other person, Cloud could see that even the man's usual calm front was broken by what had just happened, his furrowed eyebrows and slightly downturned mouth displaying an uncharacteristic show of confusion and displeasure.

"You do realize that this will greatly inconvenience your stay in the cadet program?" Tseng asked.

"I've already failed the SOLDIER exam. I'm not going to stay to try again," Cloud said without thought, though as soon as the words left his mouth, Cloud was surprised by the lack of the alarm he felt at the sudden decision. In an odd sort of calm, he realized he didn't need to fulfill that childish dream of his, he didn't want to be a hero anymore, and he didn't want to have mako injections _ever _again, under any circumstances.

Tseng's eyes turned calculating at the statement. "I see", he said. "So you'll have to find new housing as well then. If you wish for some recommendations, I can provide a list."

Cloud wasn't fooled by the man's helpful facade. This was _Tseng_, after all; the man had to be playing at something. It didn't take a genius to figure out there was some kind of power play going on between Sephiroth and Tseng, and of course, he would have the luck to walk right in the middle of it and become their pawn.

"That would be great," Cloud said.

Tseng nodded and as they arrived at HR and got the necessary documents, Cloud suddenly found himself owner of large pile of paperwork and more paperwork. Already, he was looking forward to going through the fine print tonight.

"Since you're going to be full-time, you'll have standard 9-5 hours and every week you will hand in a weekly report to me," Tseng explained.

"A weekly report?"

"On the General's overall health," Tseng elaborated. "We try to monitor that he doesn't overwork himself."

Something about the explanation seemed off to Cloud but he just nodded. "What do I do with this paperwork?"

"Hand it in here tomorrow before you start work." Here, Tseng stopped and almost as an after-thought asked Cloud, "You don't mind starting work tomorrow, right? The secretary position needs to be filled as soon as possible."

"Yeah."

And then Cloud realized what he had just agreed to.

Secretary, Tseng was saying. He was now Sephiroth's _personal secretary_.


	4. 4 french maid 5 too fly

Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII. ...sigh.

Note: **Thank you for the continuing support! **And so far, I've gotta say one of my favourite reviews has gotta be this one: "_Cloud is blond, but at least he's not totally clueless_", aha. Oh, I loved that one. That and the one that suggested I stab Sephiroth with a pen (I took it into consideration, ehe. xD)

By the way, I start to get real geeky in this chapter. Like, I mention Machiavelli. I even _quote _Machiavelli in a future chapter, my god. I was about to even do Plato and Kant, but I stopped myself, because I knew I'd probably get into real sticky, boring discussions. Ahh, how the remnants of that Philosophy class become just so useful...

Also, someone has written a wonderful story based on this idea! Go check it out, it's **The Little Guy by Toki Mirage**.

Anyway, enjoy~!

**ch4 sephiroth would have rather gotten a french maid**

While Sephiroth wasn't surprised by the volume of withdrawal letters that had built up on his desk in the aftermath of the SOLDIER exams, the name that the newest one had bared was a little... surprising.

It appeared that Cloud Strife had decided to drop out of SOLDIER.

As Sephiroth looked over the letter, he felt a small wave of surprise register, if only because he had pegged the boy to be one of those naive and pathetically determined applicants, the ones without any aptitude for fighting whatsoever yet somehow still to idealistic to realize that they would better off in another job. Sephiroth had actually been counting on the boy's ambition, had been planning to manipulate him and play on the boy's need to please to give him reasons to be loyal and not become swayed by Heidegger.

But it seemed that the boy was even more pathetic then Sephiroth had originally thought-quitting after his first SOLDIER exam? Give up all time spent training, all the pride, just because he failed the exam? A boy with that little commitment certainly shouldn't be hard to control. Though, on second thought, it only made the boy more susceptible to others' influence. Sephiroth let out a little sigh as he realized he would have keep a closer eye on the boy than he had originally thought. As Sephiroth checked the clock, hearing the boy's footsteps approach his door, he couldn't help an odd feeling of caution settling in the back of his mind.

The boy entered exactly as the clock hit 9:00.

"Reporting to duty, sir," the kid murmured in a low voice, head low and his gaze seemed to be focus on everywhere but Sephiroth's eyes, instead staring steadfastly at the General's shoulder.

Sephiroth found himself observing the boy for a few seconds, partly to intimidate the kid, but also partly just to figure him out, analyzing him as if he was back in the Wutai War, puzzling out his opponents. From the timbre of the teenager's voice, he had obviously gone through puberty, although the boy was still a full head shorter, if not more, than him. Considering what Sephiroth had seen when he rewatched the tapes of the SOLDIER exams, Cloud Strife was the reserved, aloof loner who had always been too proud to ask for help, too afraid to show vulnerabilities. At the same time, the boy didn't have the skills to back up that kind of solo work and ultimately had been unable to succeed in his mission. There, he had the seen the boy's weaknesses: lack of social skills, insecurity, and lack of physical ability.

"I see you're still wearing your cadet uniform," Sephiroth finally remarked, allowing slight disapproval to tinge his voice.

"I wasn't aware there was a dress code." From any other person, the statement probably would have come off as cheeky. From this unassuming boy, it came off as honest and oddly enough, unapologetic.

After Sephiroth realized the boy wasn't going to elaborate and make an excuse, he just nodded; he didn't need to say anything else upon the matter. Instead, he would see how the boy would come in tomorrow to test how the boy reacted. Moving on, he gestured in the direction of the walls of his office.

"Your desk is the one right outside there; for now; your responsibility is only to take incoming calls and direct them to my office as I tell you to. The only exception is Chairman Heideggert; ignore every one of his calls." Cloud's face became slightly thoughtful, but he didn't ask any further. "What you do in the meantime is up to you. Questions?"

"No, sir."

"Very good. Go settle yourself in, then."

The boy left the room, Sephiroth's enhanced ears hearing his every move as he opened drawers and turned the computer on; before long, the teenager had gotten his set-up very quickly and from what Sephiroth could hear of it, had brought a book to read as he waited for calls. Sephiroth let out a small sigh of relief; Elena, though conscientious and hardworking, had also been the one of the most restless creatures Sephiroth had ever encountered, constantly doing something with her hands, tapping with her pencils, sketching furiously, talking to herself, and even softly singing to the music she was listening to. Cloud, thankfully, seemed that he would be much quieter. Satisfied, Sephiroth quickly turned back to his paperwork and began to go through reading them, quickly tuning out Cloud's presence.

Eights hours later, Sephiroth had gotten through a mighty chuck of his never-ender paperwork requests and legislation amendments and program directions, when a knock startled him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he realized the sun had already begun to set and that he accidentally worked through his lunch break again. Not that it really mattered; it's not like he needed as much as sustenance as the regular person anyway.

"Enter," he called out. Cloud entered the room, once again, never meeting Sephiroth's careful gaze. At least the boy hadn't fainted yet, like some other cadets were wont to do. It was always troublesome having to deal with those situations.

"If you don't need anything else for today, I'll take my leave," Cloud said.

"No, you can go home for today."

Cloud gave a short bow before exiting. However, just as he walked out, Sephiroth caught a quick glimpse of the book held in his hands: Machiavelli's _The Prince. _

Immediately, Sephiroth felt a wave of caution wash over him-what was a cadet doing reading such a book? Sephiroth himself was quite familiar with the text, as his marked and annotated copy held a special place on his shelf. As a teenager, he had been a little... obsessed with the idea of power and had gone through quite the catalogue of philosophy doctrines. _The Prince_, a treatise on how rulers should treat people so that the people obey, had been a favourite of his, so much that Sephiroth found himself applying the concepts everyday when dealing with his subordinates.

However, Sephiroth knew that he was a special case. But this backwater cadet? Realling _Machiavelli_ of _his own volition_?

Putting aside the piece of paperwork that had covered his keyboard, Sephiroth turned on his computer screen and pulled up the file for Cloud Strife.

**ch5 cloud is just too fly for you pt 1**

For Cloud, his day could not have ended any slower. Despite the book he had picked up, or rather, stole from the cadet library to read (he remembered Reeve attesting all his leadership skills to it at some point or another), somehow he couldn't concentrate all that much. It itched at him, knowing Sephiroth was _alive_, and in _the room right next to him_. The whole day, his gut was yelling at him to just pick up his nearest weapon and just charge at him. Several things stopped him: lack of a good weapon or materia (what was he going to use, a _pen_?), lack of mako enhancements, and basically, lack of _any _physical strength in general. As Cloud quickly found out, when he went to the training room the day before, this body was _pathetic_, though that greatly contributed to by his unfamiliarity with his height and weight. Still, in this state, he wouldn't even last a second against Sephiroth, much less get a hit on him.

That, and a very small, annoyingly logical part of his head (who, oddly enough, sounded like Yuffie), told him Sephiroth hadn't technically gone insane yet.

Nonetheless, that didn't make Cloud resent Sephiroth (granted, for things he didn't potentially do _yet_) any less.

But at least Cloud had his list to keep himself in check: first priority was to make sure the Nibelheim incident never happened, either by making sure Sephiroth didn't go on the mission or by making sure Jenova and the files Hojo left weren't there. From the date that he had ended up in, it seemed he only had a few months for that. Second would be to take down the Science Department, or at the very least, eliminating Hojo from his position of power. After that, find a replaceable energy source for mako and take down the ShinRa monopoly. Simple as that. Right.

Though before all that, right now, Cloud needed to find a place to live and some new clothes. Luckily for the latter goal, it seemed that Tseng had put a certain Turk on Cloud's tail, if the flashes of red that Cloud kept seeing behind him were any indication. Now, he just had to draw the Turk out without too much suspicion...

Looking around, Cloud scanned the crowd looking for a suitable candidate for his plan, when he spotted a burly man exiting the pub, looking rather red in the face, as if he had just drunk too much. Perfect. Cloud kept his head and aimed his path carefully, so that just as he reached the man, his shoulder slammed into the other's man and stumbled him a bit.

Schooling a terrified look on his face, Cloud immediately turned to the other man and stuttered, "Oh Planet, I'm _so _sorry, sir!"

The man turned towards him, beady eyes narrowing on his face. Cloud watched in anticipation as the man drew back his fist-this was it. If Cloud had suspected correctly, and Tseng had placed Reno to watch him and get close to him, then this would be the perfect opportunity to intervene. Now he just had to take the bait...

"Why you little..." The man strangled out, and Cloud tensed up for the upcoming blow.

And then the man did something quite unexpected-instead the blow that Cloud had been expecting, large, muscly arms suddenly wrapped around him. So dumbfounded by the shock, it Cloud a second to realize: the man was _hugging _him.

"Why, ish okay," the man said, in a rather sing-song voice. The horror that Cloud had plastered on his face suddenly became real. "Donchu worry 'bout mee. I-I-for_give_ youu."

Out of all the drunks to pick, Cloud had to pick a _happy _drunk. What were the chances.

"S-sir, please let me go..." Cloud began to say, arms trying to disentangle himself, but the man held steadfast, and even worse, began to _rock _him and pat down his hair in what was probably supposed to be a calming motion. If anything, it made Cloud even more mortified.

"Ish okayyy... shh... don't cry, little ladyyy..."

Planet, _kill_ him no_w_. _And I'm not even crossdressing this time, damn it._ The last vestige of his patience gone, Cloud raised his leg, readying to knee him right in the groin, when a voice suddenly cut through.

"Alright there, buddy, I think our lady friend has got the message."

Suddenly, there was another hand on the arm holding him captive and within seconds, Cloud suddenly found himself free of the man's grasp. He immediately put some distance between the two, and took the time to breathe the wonderful, beautiful, _fresh air._ The voice continued to talk.

"Shouldn't you be heading home now?"

The drunkard gave the other person a dazed, confused look, before shrugging and humbling off on his own, leaving the two of them alone. As soon as Cloud felt relatively normal again, he raised his eyes to meet his saviour, of sorts. With a semi-mortified, semi-relieved feeling, Cloud realized that his plan, although it had been somewhat foiled, had ultimately worked.

There was Reno, looking somewhere around twenty, not yet an adult but not completely a teenager. (Of course, Reno, no matter how old he was, would probably always be a man-child.)

The older boy appraised at him with a openly curious look.

"Huh, I wonder why he thought you were a girl... your hair's not even long..." Reno stepped closer and gazed over Cloud's face. "Ahh, I see. You've got girly eyes, all big and thick eyelashes. Not bad, the ladies love that."

Cloud looked away, if only because he was a little creeped out by Reno's scrutiny. "Um, thank you, uh..."

"Reno," the other provided with a wide grin. "And what's a cadet doing wandering these streets, hm?"

"Actually, I'm looking to buy new clothes...?" Cloud said. His shy, unassertive persona was already beginning to grate on him, but he knew this would draw Reno out, get him off-guard. "I mean, not anything expensive, I obviously wouldn't be able to afford something like your suit, but you know. Nice."

Already, he could see Reno puffing himself up in pride. "Well, you know, this suit is custom-made, but I'll get you hooked up, yeah? What did you say your name was?"

"I'm... Cloud. But you really, well, don't need to help me or anything..."

The older boy grinned. "Never can have too many friends in this town. So come on, I'll show you where to go."


	5. 5 cloud is still just too fly

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII. Otherwise Yuffie would be the main character. Just saying.

Note: I apologize that I haven't been as consistent with keeping up with responding to reviews, as my two jobs are kind of bogging me down. That aside, **I still really appreciate all the feedback you guys have been giving me**! Thank you guys so much!

Also, the titles have nothing to do with the actual chapters. They just amuse me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this!

**cloud is just too fly for you pt 2**

Reno, of course, knew this town. First, before anything else, he forced Cloud to get a haircut, even paid for it. Unfortunately, that also meant he refused to give Cloud _any _say in how his haircut ended up. It was a strained half-hour, as Cloud forced himself not to react violently as the hairdresser slowly snipped his hair, each tortuous lock by lock, but before long, the haircut ended.

As for what he thought... well. One the bright side, his hair didn't look like a misshapen Chocobo's bum. On the other hand... did Reno just make his hair into a _fucking faux-hawk_?

He was going to _kill Reno. Screw_ keeping a low profile.

But Reno didn't even wait for Cloud's reaction and immediately started out to the next destination. He had Cloud running through so many little alleyways and backrooms, that Cloud nearly lost his trail, but eventually they stopped at a little hole in the wall tailor shop.

"Taffy'll take care of you." Just with the name alone, Cloud was already starting to have his doubts. "Don't worry, she's got experience. She's the one _all _the call girls go to when their their dresses ripped from catfights and stuff like that, yeah."

"...Is that so." As if there was any response to a statement like that. Cloud didn't even want to _know _how Reno could possibly know information like that.

However, any hour later when they exited the shop, Cloud was the brand-new owner of quite the good looking suit and some others, and he had to admit that he was impressed. Taffy, a mature-looking woman who looked something like a fortune teller in her tastefully quirky headscarf, jewelry, and sarong, had immediately brought out a navy blue set.

She related a rather dubious, to say the least, story of an pimp ex-lover, who had met an untimely early death and left all of his clothes to her store. As she related their love story (Reno adding in his own flirting and commentary all the while), she fitted Cloud in one of her ex-lover's suits and convinced him to buy some other clothes, as he _did _need more clothes than his cadet uniform, and all his clothes from home had grown a bit small. In the end, as Cloud looked at himself with the new suit, he had to admit he definitely did quite sharp, and had managed to get a reasonable price for it too.

"Not bad, huh?" Reno said as they left, pride colouring his voice. "I do say, who knew our little _lady_ friend could look so good in a suit, yeah?"

"You're not going to let that go, are you," Cloud grumbled. Reno's grin only grew.

"_Never_," he promised. "And besides, ladies like that. They see a female-looking guy, they think he's the sensitive sort of type that will listen and can be easily bossed around."

Cloud let out a little snort. "So that's why got you've got that waist-length hair?"

Reno narrowed his eyes at him. "Ouch. That was cruel." But just as quickly as it had come, his ire vanished and replaced with an amiable grin. "Say, let me take you home. Before you get yourself more lost."

Cloud let himself a little smile. Reno was anything but subtle in his approach to find information, but that was probably why his style worked. So Tseng wanted to find out where he was going to live? He was really that curious?

"I don't really have a home, yet. But I don't have much money either so... I was thinking I could go to the slums, until things get better." Cloud explained.

Reno immediately stopped walking and gave him a hard look.

"The slums, man? The _slums_? Below the plate? What, no-how _old _are you even?"

Cloud took a moment to remember. "Sixteen."

"_Sixteen _and you'd willingly go the _slums _instead of just going back to your hometown or somethin'-you think you'd even last a month?" Reno asked incredulously.

Cloud looked down at his feet, putting a glum look on his face. "I don't really have a choice if I want to stay here..."

Reno seemed to soften at that, thought his mouth was still in a hard frown. Cloud knew that Reno had come from the slums and didn't have exactly the happiest of pasts, but was the older boy honestly considering intervening? No way, Reno wasn't that considerate and soft-hearted; his mission was probably only to get close to Cloud and get to know him. But take care of him? Cloud knew that wasn't part of his responsibilities.

But then Reno's face seemed to brighten in realization and he started to feel through his pockets, letting out a noise of triumph as he found his cell phone. Reno turned to Cloud, and somehow Cloud wasn't sure if he liked the grin on the boy's face. "Hey man, I just remembered I know someone with a free room. Believe me, I trust this person, safe and caring... just, gimme a moment."

Reno then speed-dialed someone on his phone, and though Cloud strained to hear the other voice on the phone, without his enhancements, he got nothing, just left standing on the side awkward and apprehensive.

"Hey man... Right, yeah, look, so I'm sorry about last time, but I've got this new friend? Anyway, he needs a room in the slums. Think we can provide one...you know what I mean? _Yes_, I'll take care of your _damn _... flowers. Right. No hey, listen to me, it could work! Two birds, one stone! Yeah? _Trust _me... Great, kay, thanks, bye."

Reno had once told Cloud during one of their (_rare) _outings to Seventh Heaven that every Turk had their own secret phases to signify "the mission is complete", all innocuous phrases that could be spoken to any close friend on the phone. For example, Elena's was some variant of "He did _what_? I'll kill the bastard", Rude's was some horrid teenage slang like "...Snazzy", Tseng's "Sorry, my schedule's busy. Let's reschedule". Reno's fit him perfectly, for he always pretended to be speaking to an imaginary ex-girlfriend : "I'm sorry about last time".

Hearing the phrase again, Cloud knew he had to be talking to Tseng, probably using that phrase to let Tseng know he was with Cloud right now. But the second half of that conversation... flowers? Two birds with one stone?

But before he could think hard on it, Reno turned back to Cloud with a wide grin. "Okay, I've just got you a room! Come on, I'll bring you there now!"

Still, Cloud stayed true to his persona and gave Reno a confused look. "But I don't understand... why are you helping me out so much? I mean... I just _met _you today."

The other boy let out a dramatic sigh. "Yo, man, what did I say? Every guy needs some friends in town."

"Saying that only makes you sound more suspicious and sleazy, you know," Cloud muttered.

Reno cracked a grin. "Okay, you got me there. How about if I told you that I was just like you, mmkay? Used to live in the slums, tried to get into SOLDIER and bring my status up, failed that test... well, someone else noticed me, so I got lucky and got another job, but you know. I know what it's like down there. Don't want to send anyone into that hellhole without any sort of protection."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "So where you're sending me... has protection?"

"Sorta," Reno cheerfully half-answered. "Look, have I steered you wrong so far? What point would it be for me to find you a good-priced suit, only to bring you to the slums and stab your back for your money? That's waay too much for a guy like me."

Reno always had a way with rhetoric. Straightforward, crude rhetoric, but effective rhetoric nonetheless. He had style. "Fine," Cloud finally relented.

Only, an hour later, they're outside a house that Cloud knows far too well. Reno's choice of words on the phone suddenly come back to him with haunting clarity: _flowers_, _two birds with one stone..._

Reno knocked the door, and turned back to Cloud with a reassuring grin. "The girl, she's real sweet, but let me tell you, she already has a boyfriend, mmkay? A big, bad, SOLDIER boyfriend, so you might not want to get too close to her. Yeah?"

_Couldn't be_...

The peephole opened briefly. "Reno? Is that you? I heard you found us a boarder...?"

"Yup!" Reno called back. "Here's he right now, you can meet him and decide."

Cloud barely had the time to prepare himself as the door opened, the sight that meets his eyes nearly taking his heartbeat away; he barely remembered to breathe. There she was. _Alive. _Alive, young, but _alive_ and breathing, and green eyes and sweet smile and no sword piercing her diaphragm as he can only stare and watch and just so beautifully _alive..._

Aerith.

It was _Aerith_.

"Hello," she said, a bright smile on her face as she introduced herself to Cloud, holding out a hand. "Why don't you come in?"

**cloud is just too fly for you pt 3**

It had finally gotten to him. Sephiroth had been a shocker, but the man had come back from death so many times that Cloud supposed that he should have been surprised if the man _didn't_ somehow manage yet another miraculous return to life within the next few years. But Aerith had been a different story.

As Reno had gone to talk with Elmyra privately to soothe her concerns about suddenly taking in a random, teenage stranger of a boy off the streets, Cloud had been left with only Aerith for company.

For a moment, he had almost been too afraid to speak, as if the dream would suddenly end, and that he would wake to find himself back at Seventh Heaven. But Aerith, being the friendly girl she was, though relatively more reserved than her older self, began to ask Cloud questions, how old he was, where he was from, why he was in the city, before long having coaxed his life's story out of him. And as he answered, a small spark of confidence inside him had begun to grow, almost dangerously fast, until every he could feel himself grow apprehensively excited as the realization finally sunk in.

_This was real_. This reality was _really _real.

And he could save the life of the girl sitting across from him.

But just as quickly as the feeling of hope came, another feeling of anxiousness had begun to overcome him. He didn't have the enhanced strength anymore and no friends to back him up... could he really do it? Would he be able to save everyone?

"Is something on your mind?"

Cloud looked up, realizing that he had zoned out for a bit. He quirked an attempt a reassuring smile and shook his head. "No, I'm just... thinking about work."

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Aerith said. Her eyes fixed on him in curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you do?"

"I work as a secretary at Shinra."

At the name, the girl flinched a bit, almost too fast to really recognize. But Cloud had still caught the brief expression and mentally scolded himself, remembering the girl's distrust of Shinra. A horrible feeling pitted itself in his stomach as he considered the thought that things with this Aerith might be... strained, because of his job.

"My boyfriend works at ShinRa," Aerith continued comfortably, as if her brief lapse of discomfort hadn't even happened. "To be honest, I've always wondered what it would be like to work there."

_This_, Cloud had never heard before.

"Really?" he found himself asking before he could stop himself. "Why?"

The other girl's eyes began to sparkle a bit, and it unnerved Cloud: even in so short of time with this younger Aerith, he always able to pick out little differences between this one and the one he had known. This girl was more reserved, but he could see the ambition in her eyes, and a calculating drive that his Aerith never had. ... Or maybe he just had never noticed it all in the original timeline.

"Because it's such a superpower in the world," the girl all but gushed, though her tone wasn't exactly admiring. "Can you imagine getting to the top of that chain of command? Imagine how much a person could change the world from there, well, I suppose all the sacrifice that goes with having to be in that position of power."

Cloud almost smiled at the image of Aerith somehow climbing the ladders and becoming President of Shinra. The image was alluring and at the same time, absolutely absurd. "What would you change?"

The girl tilted her head in thought, resting her head on her first as she did so. "Hmm... I guess..." And then as she thought of her answer, a playful smile slid onto her face. "I would make it so more flowers could grow in the city. That'd be my top priority."

"Flowers?" Cloud tried to keep the incredulity of his voice, but there was a still crack of disbelief that he couldn't stop from coming out.

"Flowers," she confirmed. "If people see themselves surrounded by beautiful things everyday, don't you think they'd be happier? It's too bad the mako reactors make it hard for anything to grow here though. The garden I have right now is pretty sad, honestly."

"You have a garden?" It was a question he already knew the answer to, yet he somehow needed to confirm it at the same time. Already, images of the church he had always frequented during his deliveries began to flash across his mind, and an odd sense of nostalgia washed over him. "May I... see it?"

Aerith gave him surprised look, before her face morphed into a radiant smile.

"Oh... Yes. I'd love to show it to you," she said, voice bursting in pride, never sounding more like the excited seventeen-year old she was.

Aerith began to stand up and lead the way, when she stopped and turned to Cloud, an odd look on her face.

"You know... it's weird, but you're really easy to talk to, you know. Like, somehow, I know I can trust you," she said to him, her eyes searching his face as if it held an answer. "I hope Mother agrees to let you stay."

It was the best thing Cloud could have heard all day.


	6. 6 sephiroth is a fly 7 cloud smiles and

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII

Note: Here we go! Quoting philosophy! If you've ever wanted to know the best ideas of Machiavelli to quote and make yourself sound smart, pay attention!

Just kidding.

**ch6: sephiroth is a fly on the wall**

Sephiroth was... impressed. Reluctantly.

Somehow, the cadet had managed to get his hands on a _brand-name_ suit, along with a surprisingly suitable skinny tie, in less than a day. And the kid looked passable in it, almost looking like the sixteen years he was, and maybe even older. Probably could pass for eighteen, if need be.

But of course, Sephiroth didn't say any of this out loud. It wouldn't do the acknowledge the cadet's accomplishments to his face, not yet anyway.

"Do you need help with anything for today?" Cloud asked.

"No, you may continue with your regular duties as usual," Sephiroth told him.

And so as the cadet-well, ex-cadet now-excused himself to the other room, Sephiroth brought himself back to his pile of paperwork.

And for the next few days, it was the same interactions between the two. Cloud came in, did his job, and left just as quietly as he came, only saying the required courtesies. Sephiroth, oddly enough, started to suspect that the boy was trying to... _avoid_ him, almost, if the way he never made eye contact and never said more than anything meant anything. While that type behavior when it came to Sephiroth was never uncommon, the cause was usually some sort of fear or intimidation. But from Cloud, he never got impression of timidness or fear. The boy certainly was quiet and never spoke more words than necessary, but he never seemed... well... _scared_.

Which bothered Sephiroth more than it probably should have.

So today, in a sudden strike of procrastination (apparently, he was scheduled for yet _another_ 'morale visit' to the cadets), Sephiroth suddenly remembered the book he had seen Cloud holding. Curiosity suddenly taking over, he pulled up the camera that was placed above Cloud's desk on his computer, and sure enough, the boy did seem to seriously be reading Machiavelli's treatise... and taking _notes _as well. When Sephiroth zoomed the camera closer to the desk, he was able to make out the words.. and then realized, that the kid wasn't just annotating the book. Rather, it seemed to be a to-do list, and every note he made from the book seemed to be ... a _strategy_.

_E. sources? - well-used cruelty: do all the harm you must at one and the same time, that way the full extent of it will not be noticed - scapegoat? how slow a transition? who to lead? to research? create another WRO?_

_Overthrow H? - a ruler who is more afraid of his subjects than of foreign powers should fortresses; but a ruler who is more afraid of foreign powers than of his subjects who should without them - who is H afraid of? weakness? bait? who would fill the void?_

_Nibelheim? – one month._

_Continue training? -it is much safer to be feared than loved, if you have to do without one of the two - is former possible? is latter feasible?_

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to think. If he hadn't known any better, he would think that the boy was in the middle of a rebellion-though against what, he had no idea. The boy had used vague enough abbreviations that Sephiroth couldn't get a clear sense of who the whole outline was aimed towards: H? E. sources?

But before Sephiroth could formulate any possible theory, the phone rung and as his duty, Strife picked it up. Seconds later, the boy's voice crackled through the machine on Sephiroth's desk.

"Sir, another cadet has been sent up."

The man held back his sigh and told Cloud to send the boy up in five minutes. Sephiroth took one last look at the ex-cadet's scribbles before closing his computer screen.

**ch 7: cloud smiles and then some **

Cloud had taken to joining Aerith as she took care of her garden and while their small talk was certainly never life-changing, he found he enjoyed the mundaneness of it all. Taking care of a garden. _Him._

But it helped him, made him feel normal, if only somewhat.

"So… how's work going, Cloud?"

He noticed Aerith was particularly careful about speaking about Shinra, and seemed to avoided talking about details when it came to the conglomerate. She never asked who Cloud worked for, or even in what department, and she never gave more details than necessary when it came to talking about Zack. She hadn't even mentioned Zack's name, and only referred to him as 'her boyfriend'.

But in that moment, Cloud would have given everything to tell her what the whole story. So many times, he had looked at her face, still feeling that lingering sense of wonder just at seeing her alive, and would have to remind himself that this wasn't _his _Aerith. He couldn't just tell her, the girl barely knew him. And even if she did believe him, he wouldn't want to place that burden on her shoulders, not at this age. So he just gave a short shrug.

"It's fine," he murmured, letting a hand linger on one of the flowers, a small sense of peace filling him. The garden never failed him in the future and didn't fail him now."Just feeling a little restless, I suppose. This job feels like it's going nowhere."

Aerith whacked him gently on the shoulder. "Silly, you're younger than me and you're already trying to make yourself into some old man going through his middle life crisis." She rolled her eyes. "Does _anyone _at this age know where they're supposed to be going?"

"I know. I'm just... impatient," he finally said, shrugging. He looked at her curiously. "What about you? What makes you feel that way?"

Aerith hummed thoughtfully and took a seat beside him. "Well, sometimes," she said wistfully, "I wonder if I'm ever going to go above the plate."

"I could take you sometime," Cloud offered, but Aerith immediately shook her head.

"No way, I wouldn't fit in and I would feel awkward." Cloud couldn't imagine Aerith ever being awkward, but then again, she was a teenager now. That was practically synonymous with awkward and uncomfortable. "Besides… I don't know, it also seems a little scary, too."

"Yet you still want to go?" Cloud asked.

"Yes…" she answered, though her voice was a little hesitant, and then more firmly, she added, "I'd at least want to look at the libraries. The ones down here are a bit… lacking." She gave Cloud a mock serious look. "Let me tell you, the home-schooling situation in Sector 5 is not glamorous."

Cloud let out a soft chuckle, causing Aerith to giggle a bit as well.

"So I'm the lucky one then? Didn't pass SOLDIER but at least I'm not getting home-schooled, right?" he responded wryly.

"Ding ding ding! Correct!"

Already, Cloud felt his spirits began to lift a little, even though he hadn't found a particular answer to his problem. He still had at least one reason to try, sitting right next to him.

**cloud smiles and then some pt 2**

The next day, after he got off work, Cloud found himself heading for the public library for the second time, this time browsing the stacks for something he see Aerith being interested in. While he was choosing between two books, a hand suddenly reached out and placed another book on his pile.

"If you're looking into the science behind Mako, I suggest this book."

Cloud looked up and felt his heartbeat in shock as he realized he recognized the person talking to him. His mouth opened to form words, but he couldn't even figure where to begin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your browsing," Reeve continued. "I just get excited when I see young people more interested in science than, well, fighting. It's refreshing."

Cloud's mind was already buzzing with ideas and plans. Reeve would be a _perfect_ ally to have. The man who had led the WRO after Shinra's fall had done quite the admirable job with the progress and even more, he had a conscience. Morals. Perhaps this could be Cloud's chance—if he could get Reeve on his side, maybe he would have a chance at succeeding in his plans…

"It's not for me, it's for my friend," Cloud managed out when he finally found his voice. "Just wanted to... cheer her up."

He could see Reeve's eyes raise at the pronoun, an interested look entering the man's eyes.

"That's definitely a method I've not heard before," Reeve said with a chuckle. "Cheering up a female with books on _science_… why, I might have to try that sometime. Perhaps I can help? What is she interested in, I can recommend something."

"Well… she's been trying to grow flowers. Maybe … a book on how Mako affects the environment?"

When Reeve gave Cloud a critical look, he belatedly realized how his statement could be misconstrued to sound like he was trying to find a book for some AVALANCHE sympathizer, and he panicked, wondering if he had ruined his chance. But the man's look disappeared quickly, replaced with a more thoughtful expression. He turned towards the shelves, dragging a finger along the spines as he searched for a title.

"Well, in that case…" He pulled out a thin book and placed it in Cloud's hands. "This would probably be best. It's a bit sparse but… well, on that topic, you won't probably won't find much anyway."

Cloud knew what the man was referring. As if Shinra would let a book with considerable information on how Mako affected the Planet get published for the common public to see. He probably should be grateful he found anything at all.

"Thank you," he said, putting all the other books he took out back in.

"No, I'm glad to be able to help enrich someone's education," Reeve said with a smile. "In fact, if your friend wants something more, I think I might be able to find something more for her."

Cloud found a small piece of paper suddenly put into his hand. Realizing it was Reeve's _business card_, he bega to stare at it, almost unable to believe his luck.

"Why don't you call me and tell me how it turns out?" Reeve asked with a friendly smile.

It couldn't have been that easy. Could it?

"I will," Cloud promised. For extra effect, he looked down at the card and added, "Mr. Tuesti."

"Call me Reeve," the older man insisted, holding out his hand. "And what's your name?"

Cloud took the hand. "Cloud Strife."

Things were looking up.


	7. 7 sephiroth is a moth on the wall

**ch8 sephiroth is a moth on the wall**

A sharp pain pierced his head and Sephiroth stopped for a moment to lay a hand on the wall, taking the moment to find his balance. Getting a migraine after a visit to a certain doctor were never uncommon, but lately they had been getting more and more frequent. Sometimes, he would even get the odd feeling that his mind wasn't his own. Yet Sephiroth made sure never to tell Hojo. More than anything, he didn't need the older man to give him even _more_ tests. Sephiroth already had a lot on his plate. If he had to tolerate a few moments of pain to avoid the other's man rather... _dogmatic_ dedication to science, he would. It would be worth the sacrifice.

At least the path to the Science Department was a more abandoned one and Sephiroth was allowed his few seconds of weakness without any unwanted eyes. The only other things left in this side of the building were abandoned training rooms that only had old, prototype versions of the virtual reality stimulator, which were, in comparison to the new, sleek machines that everyone used, practically pieces of metal glued to together. No one went to these rooms anymore (probably the reason the Science Department had decided to move here in the first place) and so there weren't even any security feeds, as it'd just a waste of resources.

After a few moments, Sephiroth felt the headache start to subside, until all that was left was a dull clanging, echoing in his ears. Giving him a few seconds to re-orientate himself, he took a breath before starting to walk again, this time, his steps slow and pronounced.

However, the clanging in his head wasn't going away. With every step, the noise only louder and clearer, almost as if the source was getting _closer_, as if… No, the noise wasn't in his head at all.

Someone else was making the noise.

Curiosity gripped Sephiroth like a wet blanket. With a renewed sense of energy, Sephiroth found himself walking towards the source. As he got closer, the noise become more pronounced. He began to make out the distinct sound of water running and before long, Sephiroth found himself the locker room of what was supposed to be the abandoned training rooms. Even the training room that the infantrymenand regular Shirna employees shared had access to better equipment than this one—so anyone forced to resort to these off-the-path rooms would only do so in order to hide something.

So who…

Sephiroth didn't even have to wait for his answer. The door to the training room slid open and Sephiroth suddenly found himself face-to-face with a startled Cloud Strife, looking as though as if he had just stepped out of the shower. For a brief second, the boy's usual blank face seemed to crack a bit and something akin to panic seemed to slip across his face, before it quickly settled. Curious.

"Sir," the boy finally greeted and moved to put his things away.

"You're still training on your own?" Sephiroth asked.

The boy shrugged. "Shouldn't let everything go to waste."

"Good philosophy," Sephiroth commented lightly. "Though, I can't help but wonder why you remain working at this company. If not SOLDIER, then why stay?"

Cloud gave him a critical look and Sephiroth could practically read the thought at the forefront of the boy's mind: _why do you even care_. It wasn't a reaction that Sephiroth had been expecting; he had thought the boy would be shy, but would open up at the chance to tell the man anything, impress him, like every other cadet seemed to give off. It was their first conversation, and Sephiroth was starting to realize he didn't know much about the boy at all.

Cloud let out a little snort, as if enjoying an inside joke and just said, "Who wouldn't want to work for a superpower like Shinra. Can you imagine getting to the top of that chain of command? How much you could change the world?"

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. Cloud didn't come off as the power hungry type; Sephiroth knew how to smell those a room away. Still, the memory of the boy reading Machiavelli at his desk came to the front of Sephiroth's mind, and though his instinct didn't agree, the explanation was consistent with what he had seen from the boy.

"You don't seem the office politics type," Sephiroth commented.

Cloud paused a bit, taking a long, few seconds before he answered slowly, "You don't think I look like a certain President?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, understanding the implication immediately,and his mind was immediately in overdrive; the boy shared hair colour, eye colour, similar facial structure… but another one? Like Lazard? What were the chances—

"I was kidding." Cloud interrupted Sephiroth's thoughts flatly. "Though people used to think that. When… they wondered how I got into the infantry training program."

Sephiroth found himself storing the information away, as everything began to connect in slow, messy, lines. "Is that why you're here? Instead of the regular gym?"

"Yeah," the boy said. "When I was a cadet, I got lost and found this place… I just… get embarrassed when people watch me train."

Sephiroth found himself disbelieving the answer. If anything, the boy seemed anything but embarrassed to Sephiroth. He was taciturn and reserved, but never seemed shaken or out of control. Even now in this situation, the boy didn't give off… well, any kind of feeling at all. It was as if Cloud was never there, never really feeling anything as he talked. Sephiroth had seen something similar in all the war veterans of Wutai, but a sixteen year-old boy? It only intrigued Sephiroth further, like a puzzle that only got more complicated as the pieces fell into the place. What would it take to break this boy, he wondered, and crack that blank mask he always wore?

"You're not made to be a fighter if you're so afraid of what other people think."

"… Maybe. But.." Cloud paused and closed his mouth. He suddenly looked broke eye contact and started to gather up his gym bag. "Like I said, it'd be a waste to stop."

_The boy had been going to say something else before he changed his mind_, Sephiroth realized, feeling a small feeling of intrigue rising within him. So the boy _did _have a genuine reason to keep training and not only that, but he didn't want anyone to know. There, Sephiroth had finally seen the embarrassment as tension had subtly entered the teenager's shoulders. This was where the boy was hiding his secrets.

But before Sephiroth could interrogate the boy any further, Cloud had finished packing and made a move towards the door—or rather, had been about to.

Suddenly, the world shifted on itself as a white hot pain burned itself into Sephiroth's skull. A sudden pressure descended on his head, almost as if some spirit with long, scaly, ice-cold fingers had gripped his head and was digging its claws in slowly, each digit at a time until the whole hand had dug into Sephiroth's scalp and was attempting to tear it apart. For a moment, all Sephiroth could feel was the searing white burn, and it took him all his strength not to let out more than a grunt.

_Find me... my son... _

He gripped his head hard, his balance suddenly gone as he swayed slightly, when suddenly two arms had grabbed him and held him steady. Surprised by the sudden contact, through his haze of pain, Sephiroth looked to find himself looking into Cloud's eyes, the boy looking at him carefully, almost as if... he recognized the symptoms. Only when the other's cerulean eyes met Sephiroth's gaze did his eyes widen slightly, and for the first time, Sephiroth finally saw the boy's face contract in fear.

The boy suddenly began to move swiftly, one hand digging through his bag as he searched for something, all the while keeping one arm on Sephiroth to keep him steady. Within seconds, the boy brought his hand out, Sephiroth unable to make out its shape in his daze, when he suddenly realized the ex-cadet's hands was on his mouth and... feeding him something?

Sephiroth barely had the time to struggle against the cadet's hold, about to spit out whatever he had just been fed, when his tongue began recognize the taste, an almost familiar, sweet flavor that Sephiroth could almost swear that he's had before, yet couldn't recall.

And then, oddly enough, the migraine began to disappear.

It took a good minute, as Sephiroth sucked on the melting object in his mouth, but sure enough, his vision began to clear and he was surprised to see Cloud still there. The expression on the boy's face, however, wasn't exactly concern; instead, the boy seemed more thoughtful and confused than caring. Sephiroth wasn't sure if would have been able to handle the latter.

"You may let go now," Sephiroth said when he felt his strength finally return to him as the migraine disappeared entirely. Immediately, Cloud let go, though the resulting sudden lack of warmth disorientated Sephiroth somewhat, if only for a second.

The substance in his mouth having completely melted, Sephiroth rolled the flavour around in his mouth in curiosity... and then a sudden thought struck Sephiroth, perhaps a bit belatedly.

"What exactly did you give to me?" Sephiroth asked suspiciously. The boy seemed surprised, almost incredulous at the question.

"That was... chocolate," Cloud answered slowly. After a brief moment's pause, he quickly added a small, respectful "sir".

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows in surprise. So _that _was what chocolate had tasted like. As a child, Hojo had made sure to give Sephiroth a thorough review of proper nutrition and health and regulated his diet quite obsessively, to the point that he had never been given any food that hadn't been mathematically calculated to be optimal for his health. Sweets and junk food, weren't even given consideration. Then as an adult, Sephiroth just had never gotten the urge to try, knowing that the junk food he saw Fair wolf down far too often only served to destroy his diet.

But now Sephiroth was starting to have second thoughts.

"I see" Sephiroth finally acknowledged, processing the information and making sure to remember to bring chocolate for his next visit to the doctor. He then looked at the cadet carefully. "And why did you feel to give me _chocolate_, out of all things, for a migraine?"

Cloud looked a little confused, almost as if he didn't understand the answer himself. "When I had Geo... well, when I used to get headaches a lot, somehow, chocolate always helped."

The boy looked honest enough as he gave his answer, though Sephiroth wasn't all too confident in readings the boy's expressions just yet. There was too much about him that didn't make sense.

"Here," Cloud finally said, handing Sephiroth the chocolate bar. "Keep it in case your migraine comes back. Good night, sir."

As the boy left the training room, Sephiroth merely stared at the chocolate bar, wondering what had just happened. He was concerned with how the migraines seemed to get worse in intensity after every session with Hojo, and more than a little troubling to think about if the migraines should ever occur begin to occur more frequently and in more inconvenient times-for example, during the day, where others could see him, or even worse, during a mission where an enemy could take advantage. No, he certainly needed to make sure no one else knew of his condition and maybe needed to lay low for a while, schedule less press meetings and morale visits for the time being.

And how _had _the boy known exactly what to give him?

Sephiroth mulled over his conversation with the boy; Cloud had, perhaps unintentionally, revealed having some sort of disease when he was younger, yet it was odd that the treatment for his sickness would be just as effective with Sephiroth's headaches. Could their two ailments be related? But how could that be possible, it's not as if Cloud was getting special weekly treatments just as Sephiroth was...

Or had the boy _really_ been telling the truth when he said he found the training rooms by chance?

Sephiroth stared down the hallway in contemplation, at this point refusing to let his paranoia spin any more unlikely theories. He honestly just did not have enough information to come to any conclusions about this boy. And as much as it bothered him, he also couldn't help but allow himself the smallest flutter of anticipation at the mystery and potential.

And the boy had certainly known how to escape the conversation unnoticed, at least.

However, as Sephiroth began to follow the road back to his quarters, a cold thought took hold of him with sudden force.

The one other person who now knew of his weakness... was also the very person paid to report these things to Heidegger.

"_Fuck_ it all."


	8. 8 cloud's milkshakes bring all the

**ch9 cloud's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard (and they're like...)**

Once again, Cloud found himself in Aerith's garden as he replayed everything in his mind.

If there were one word to describe Cloud's reaction to what had just happened inside the training room, it would most definitely be _troubling_. It had been decidedly unnerving just seeing Sephiroth suddenly show up at the training rooms. Cloud had known that these training rooms were near the Science Department, in fact had chosen the training rooms, partly due to that he could conveniently watch the traffic within the office and notice any suspicious patterns. But there had been no reason for _anyone_, and certainly not Sephiroth, to go off the wayward path and walk by the training rooms.

And yet the man had shown up and not only that, he had started asking questions. Cloud had immediately recalled all his conversations with Vincent, the older man's tips on how to throw off someone from figuring out that you're hiding something: create a persona, stick with it, add irrelevant details so it seems genuine. The part about being Rufus' half-brother had been a particularly random whim that he went with—Rufus had often jokingly offered a DNA test due to their similar physical characteristics (it was a joke that Cloud never particularly enjoyed, and refused the offer everytime—he honestly would rather not take the infinitely miniscule chance that _Shinra _had been his father). But he saw how Sephiroth's eyes had grown more calculating at that tidbit, even after Cloud had made it into a joke. It had almost been too fun acting out the part of a timid, bullied boy.

It was mostly what had happened after the conversation that disturbed Cloud; seeing the man suddenly break out in pain, to the point of being unable hold him himself, had done more than enough to unnerve Cloud, but when he saw Sephiroth's pupils dilating into cat-like slits, cold, sheer numbness had gripped hold of his every bone.

He had never thought he would have to look into Jenova's gaze again, and seeing it for the first time in this timeline still left him shaking, though he couldn't exactly describe from what. And to think she was already able to possess Sephiroth...He needed to get to Nibelheim, he need to destroy everything in that mansion, and he needed to make sure Jenova was wiped out, completely. Unfortunately, he barely had enough savings to maybe buy an extra suit if he haggled a bit, much less to buy a ticket to Nibelheim. But time was running out. The urgency shook at his bones as the image of Sephiroth's cat-like pupils displayed itself in high detail behind Cloud's eyes. Time was running out and more than goals and priorities, he needed a _solid plan_.

"Should I worried that I see you in my garden so often?"

Cloud opened his eyes to find Aerith shadowing over him, a teasing smile playing across her lips. As she sat down next to him, Cloud found himself smiling along with her, feeling the usual lift in spirit he felt whenever he was near her. In total deadpan, he told her, "I can't help it; the flowers match me, don't you think?"

She giggled a little before plucking a flower and placing it behind Cloud's ear, giving it a critical look before nodding, a mock contemplative look on her face. "You're right. The daisies definitely bring out the colour of your eyes. Maybe you should start wearing them to work."

"Only if you agree to braid them in every morning."

Aerith's smile turned devious. "Ooh, I like that. It's like having a little sister."

He winced a bit, playing along, though the words didn't sting. Though it was a wonder how the girl could be as biting as she was gentle; she probably had to be, in order to keep up with Zack's antics all the time. Cloud, however, deciding not to fight that losing battle, instead reached into his bag to bring out the book he had checked out from the library and handed to her. Her expression immediately changed to one of wonder.

"What is this..." she said, as she marveled over it, before turning it over to read the title. Her eyes widened as she took in the words. "_A Short Study on Mako and its Effect on Ecosystems..._"

"Just something I found at the library," Cloud explained, his voice suddenly a bit smaller and reserved. "I thought you might like it."

She looked at Cloud, her eyes suddenly big and happy. "You did this for me? Cloud, this is... _wonderful_. Just... thank you!"

Cloud shrugged. He never did handle thank-you's very well and just did as he always did, mumbling a small 'no problem', waving it off as if it was nothing. That, of course, did not stop Aerith from hugging him tightly, swinging him back and forth in her excitement as she continued to spew out her gratitude. And it felt sort of nice, to be honest.

"Careful, or your boyfriend might get jealous when he gets back from his vacation," Cloud finally said.

"It's okay," Aerith assured him confidently. "I mean, you're like my little sister, right?" She pulled back, only to ruffle his hair vigorously. "My cute, adorable little sister. I can call you that, right?"

Cloud just rolled his eyes. "Just as long as you don't start setting me up with random men."

Aerith's eyes turned wide and all-too-curious.

"Oh? So that's the team you play for?"

**cloud's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard (and they're like...) pt 2**

Cloud's talk with Aerith had served to make him less anxious (save for that awkward turn when they started discussing his sexual preference-there, Aerith had gotten _nothing _from him), and as they went back to the house together, Cloud knew he was better than this, better than this panicking, hysterical version of him. He had learned the hard way that allowing himself to be agitated by things he couldn't control and trying to rush things never was the effective way to deal with a problem.

Still, over the week, he felt content just coming home to see Aerith leafing through the book, a notebook beside her to scribble notes on as she digested the pages. Aerith had gotten so invested in the book that even Elmyra had trouble calling her down to dinner, the girl often saying she'd eat later, she was in the middle of something good. Elmyra's face melted into a disapproving frown at first, marred with a little confusion. It was like the older woman couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or not to see Aerith so interested in studying mako. But eventually, she only let out a sigh and turned towards Cloud, "I don't think I've ever seen her this passionate about anything."

By the end of the week, Aerith had shown Cloud all of her work-though to be honest, despite her neat, flowerly handwriting, he couldn't really understand what any of it meant. All he saw was webs of ideas and circles and lines, and everything was written in a cryptic shorthand. Nonetheless, Aerith still pushed the sheet towards him.

"So I just had a few questions about mako," Aerith started, a hopeful look on her face. "I don't suppose you could fill in any of the spaces...?"

"I ... doubt it." When her face fell, Cloud almost immediately added quickly, "But I can try."

Though Cloud had been able to resolve some of her questions, in the end, more than seventy-five percent had been a mystery, and while Aerith had attempted to hide her disappointment, Cloud could see the dissatisfaction playing at the corner on her mouth. His heart lurching at the expression, he went back to his room and within minutes, had found what he was looking for: Reeve's card.

He hadn't been planning to make contact with Reeve so soon, as he had recently gotten the vague idea of integrating cadet detention with community service in the Urban Development Department after seeing so many cadets get sent to Sephiroth, but seeing Aerith's expression had made him push that idea completely to the side. After going out to town to find a pay phone somewhere (Cloud never thought he would miss having his own cell phone), Cloud happened upon one a few blocks down and dialed the number on the card. It was unlikely that the man would still be working in the evening, on a weekend no less, but he could at least leave a voice message.

But to Cloud's surprise, the call actually went through. "Urban Development, this is Reeve."

"Hello Reeve, this is Cloud... the boy you met at the library a few days back."

"Oh! Cloud!" The man's voice held a note of pleasant surprise. "Hello, how are you? Did the book make your friend feel any better?"

"She loved it, actually," Cloud said. "I'm actually calling because she already finished the book, and well, there are a lot of questions that she still has. I was wondering if you could recommend a follow-up book that went more in depth, to maybe fill in the gaps?"

On the other end of the line, the man made a thoughtful humming noise. "Well, that certainly was fast. But I'm afraid there isn't much on the subject. This is not the most... popular aspect of mako, you see."

Cloud felt his heart sink. "Oh, I see. Well... Thank you for your time."

"Hold on a moment. You say your friend has questions?" There was the sound of paper shuffling. "Okay, this is sort of short notice, but do you think she would be free tomorrow night, maybe somewhere around seven? I will be meeting a friend for drinks who happens to be very knowledgable about the subject. Your friend would be able to ask her whatever she wanted."

Cloud's instinctive caution flared up a bit-who could Reeve possibly know that knew mako well? His first thought had been Hojo, but he doubted that Reeve would go out for drinks with Hojo so casually. Besides, the man had used a female pronoun. As far as he could remember, most of the evil mako scientists he had met before were male, so it couldn't be any of them either.

But deep down, despite his paranoia telling him otherwise, Cloud knew that Reeve was a man to be trusted. And the expression on Aerith's face when she had gotten the book... well, that was more than enough motivation for Cloud to do anything to bring it back.

"Tomorrow at seven sounds good," Cloud finally decided.

"Great! Oh, but," the man's voice turned a bit hesitant. "You don't mind meeting under the Plate, do you?"

"Not at all." That was even better.

"Fantastic."

After Reeve finished giving directions to the place they were going to meet and hung up, Cloud walked back to the house, feeling a little brighter.

Now it was just a matter of getting Aerith out from under the Turks watch.


	9. 9 and they're like

**cloud's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard (and they're like...) pt 3**

"Cloud, who _exactly _are we meeting?" Aerith had finally asked. To be honest, Cloud was surprised that it had taken her that long; Cloud had dragged Aerith around for a walk, going through random neighborhoods casually until they finally arrived the convenience store near the church, and she had asked nothing whatsoever. Perhaps it was the anticipation; when Cloud had told her that evening he knew someone who could answer her questions, she had all but suffocated Cloud in her excitement as she hugged him.

Or perhaps she trusted him that much.

The thought gave him a tentatively happy feeling. On one hand, he never would have thought his friendship with Aerith could have progressed this easily; on the other hand, Aerith shouldn't have been so trusting of teenage boys she just met a week ago. Even Elmyra was surprisingly lax, unable to hold against Aerith's puppy look when she asked for permission to go. The older woman had given Cloud a particularly harsh look and only said to him, "Get her home by ten, the latest."

But then again, with Zack, the Turks, and Cloud, Aerith had bodyguards to spare. Speaking of which…

Cloud found a bench and motioned for Aerith to sit down.

"First… can I use your cell phone?" he asked. She gave a confused look, but didn't ask complied and handed over the device. Flipping it open, Cloud went through her contact list before he found the name he was looking for and pressed the dial button.

Considering who it was, the person picked up surprisingly quick. "Heya Aerith, what are you doing calling me? Shouldn't you be sending embarrassing texts to your _boyfriend_ or something?"

"Reno, it's Cloud."

There was an awkward silence on the other side for a moment, but the man recovered smoothly. "Oh, Cloud. What's up?"

Cloud glanced discreetly at the other side, searching the people until he found the face he was looking for, only taking a few seconds to find the Turk; Bald head, black sunglasses, casually reading a newspaper. So today Rude had been assigned to watch over Aerith.

"It's just… is Aerith in some kind of trouble or something?" Cloud made sure his voice sounded nervous. Aerith gave him an alarmed look at that point, but he mouthed the word 'wait' to her.

"_No_…" Reno dragged out slowly, his tone still light, but not with more serious undertones. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, it's just that whenever I'm with her, I see this really shady-looking guy following her all the time. He looks like he's in a gang or something…"

"_Gang_?" Reno's voice became slightly incredulous at this point. "What does this guy look like?"

"Um. Bald. Always wears sunglasses, even at night."

There was a pause, and then an odd noise came from the side of the line, a noise sounding like something between coughing, choking, and laughing, all at the same time. Cloud could just imagine the man bending over in laughter, red in face at the thought of Rude being mistaken for a _gang _member.

When the man finally calmed down, he came back to the phone, though as he talked, there was still the occasional crack of absolute amusement as he talked. "Look. Man. Give it a couple minutes, yeah? It's probably just your imagination. And if you're still suspicious after a couple minutes, then call me again. But it's probably nothing. Trust me."

After Cloud hung up, sure enough minutes later, Rude received a phone call and with a rather mystified look on his face, began to walk off. Cloud let out a sigh of relief and turned to Aerith, still patiently waiting.

"That was... just to get rid of your bodyguard," Cloud explained. Aerith blinked in surprise and when it sunk in, her hand flew to her mouth and she started to giggle.

"Oh... oh, but you should have _heard _yourself," she said, absolutely delighted. "You sounded _so _convincing..."

"That was the point," Cloud muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"But... it's you!" Aerith said. "I didn't think you could ever sound that, well, wimpy. And that's all I have to do to get them-_wait_." Her face suddenly uncharacteristically suspicious. "How... how did you know I have bodyguards? And about Reno?"

Cloud felt a stab of panic, realizing he wasn't supposed to know that Aerith was a Cetra, or that she had Turks following her around. "I just... kept noticing him." His mind scrambled for some kind of explanation. "Look, I just a bit suspicious about Reno... so, I used my connections at work and found out about him. His job. And I just put the two together."

But Aerith still had a dark look on her face. "And how do I know you're not just some... plant? Someone to get close to me, get my trust and lead me to..." She broke off quickly, looking down.

"No, I would _never _do that," Cloud immediately cut in vehemently. "I don't know what's going with you... or what this is about, but..." He watched her hands, white, clasped tightly together, shaking. "...I don't need to, either. Living with you and your mother... it's the closest thing I've had to a home _in years_."

She still wouldn't look at him, fiercely keeping her gaze to her hands. Cloud kept silent, waiting.

And then, finally, her voice was quiet. "... Tell me something about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

Her mouth was still set in a stubborn line, but she glanced at him out of her corner of her eye, and as her voice came out, the tone came out more hesitant than suspicious. "Whenever you're in my garden... and you look so sad... what are you thinking about?"

There was a brief jolt of panic-truth be told, he had been hoping for something more along the lines of 'have you ever been in love' and 'what is your worst fear'-but Cloud pushed the instinctive fear down. This was Aerith. _Aerith_.

"... I want to save the world," he said honestly.

Aerith shifted a bit, her body facing him. "How?" she asked, her voice curious and without any hint of incredulity.

"Take away power from Shinra," Cloud explained, the words coming out slowly as he unsuccessfully attempted to find a way to phrase things meaningfully. Somehow, everything just sounded so awkward from his mouth. "Or... at least change it enough so the higher-ups aren't just trying to preserve the status quo... Find an alternative energy source so everything isn't so dependent on mako... "

"That's all? Saving the world, it's just that simple?"

"Yeah."

"And you're going to do it all by yourself?"

"...Yeah."

"Why?"

He glanced at her, and saw that she was finally looking at him again. Her face was unreadable. "Why... what?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Why bother trying?"

It was a question that he used to ask himself quite a lot before. It had taken him a while to realize, after Meteor, after Geostigma, that he always had reasons, surrounding him everyday when he saw the faces of Denzel and Marlene, felt Tifa's comforting hand on his shoulder, got a loud, chirpy voice-mail from Yuffie... And now, suddenly remembering them all, all those bonds of friendship suddenly lost in the wake of this wonderful, horrific chance... the pain hit him too suddenly, and for a few seconds, Cloud had trouble breathing.

Somehow, it hadn't hit him until now, but by coming back to this time... he had lost _everything _that had given him reason to live.

All for this second chance.

He wasn't sure how long it took for him to find his voice again, but when he did, the words came out shaky, the sounds barely making it out of his throat.

"The people that I love... they deserve something better than... _this_."

Something fierce burned in his eyes. Cloud blinked furiously, swallowing the lump in his throat with a harsh breath as he tried to fight the feeling off, when he jumped, suddenly feeling something warm placing itself onto his fingers.

A hand. Trust.

"...Can I help?"

**cloud's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard (and they're like...) pt 4**

Shalua Rui. When Reeve had introduced the woman to the two of them, Cloud had a feeling that he heard the name before. However, it had taken three minutes into the conversation when Shalua had mentioned she was looking for something, that Cloud could recall where. Yuffie had one day accidentally run into him in the WRO headquarters, her face red and puffy from crying, and before Cloud could even say anything, she had spilled the situation with Shalua and Shelke Rui, the story culminating to how Shalua had sacrificed herself for her sister, and in Yuffie's words, "the bitch robot didn't even _care_".

Cloud glanced at the woman across from him, the memory causing him to look at her with new perspective. He didn't exactly trust her, but at the very least he could be assured this woman was anti-Shinra.

It hadn't taken long for Aerith to get past the woman's initial defenses, and before long, they had started into an enthusiastic conversation about Mako. Which left Cloud with Reeve, who had no qualms with starting a conversation.

"So Cloud, what's it like being the General's personal secretary?" At Cloud's look of surprise, the man simply explained, "I have to admit, I was curious what kind of boy would be in the library looking for books on mako, even if for a friend. I might have... researched you, a bit."

"Nothing bad, I hope?" Cloud asked in good humour.

Reeve chuckled a bit. "Well, you tell me. Fail SOLDIER but still end up working under the great Sephiroth? I would think that's every teenage boy's wet dream."

"I think the Urban Development Department is interesting as well," Cloud said.

"You say that, but if I offered you a job in Urban Development, I doubt you'd take it, am I right?"

Cloud actually paused to think about it. He wouldn't have to work with Sephiroth for eight hours a day, but... no, the issue came down to necessity. He needed to be able to prevent Nibelheim, and for that, he needed to close to the man, or at least in a position to influence him, somewhat.

That's all it was. Right?

Reeve, taking Cloud's lack of response as an affirmative, nodded in understanding. "Well, didn't hurt to hope, I suppose," the man said jokingly. Cloud gave a smile grin in response.

"At the very least, I can be your connection to the General, if you ever need it," Cloud reasoned. "And if I ever need the help from Urban Development..."

Reeve gave Cloud a critical and surprised look before a slow grin spread across his face.

"Hmm, I do like the way you think... Perhaps there is hope for you, yet."

**cloud's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard (and they're like...) pt 5**

"She was... wonderful!" Aerith gushed as they returned back. "She made things so much clearer, and even gave me new ideas about how to grow my flowers and oh! She gave me her number, to call her whenever! Oh Cloud, thank you thank you thank you!"

"It's nothing," he insisted.

"Yeah but... I was so _horrible _ to you earlier," she said in a quiet voice. Before Cloud could stop her, the words came pouring out of her in a guilt-filled flood. "I'm really sorry. I'm just... not very good at trusting sometimes... and I guess I'm still kind of missing Zack. I just sometimes get the feeling he'll go off one day and never come back... nevermind, I'm just... really, really, sorry."

Cloud awkwardly fumbled for a response, her response somehow making him feel even worse about that whole situation. "It's okay," he finally said, then adding, " ... I'm sorry too."

Aerith gave him a confused look. "For what?"

"... For making you feel that way."

She let out a bright smile, to his relief. "Oh Cloud. You're too silly."

They continued on in comfortable silence, walking all the back to the house and just about to reach for the door, when Aerith suddenly stopped and turned to Cloud excitedly, the announcement all but bursting from her lips.

"Oh! And Shalua also promised to show me how to shoot a gun!"


	10. 10 sephiroth has the force of a great

**ch10 sephiroth has all the force of a great typhoon…**

Sephiroth waited. He knew the type of man Heidegger was; if the Chairman had even the slightest suspicion that Sephiroth had some kind of weakness to exploit, the man wouldn't wait for anything. Sephiroth nearly expected to find the Turks waiting for him when he got home, trap after trap set in place. And they would all be fools to think they could challenge his power.

But nothing happened.

It was unnerving almost, how everything went on as it did before. No hidden assassin. No sudden physical. Even at the Board of Directors' meeting, Heidegger had not made a single indication that he had something planned, not even a gloat or an ominous warning. It was almost as if the man just simply did not know what happened in the training room.

And that was an even more perplexing possibility.

Heidegger, Sephiroth knew how to deal with. But Cloud? It seemed that Sephiroth just couldn't get a clear picture of the boy's agenda. Each new piece of information only pointed in a different direction; one day, the boy was pathetic and bullied. The next day, he was ambitious and power-hungry. Yet none of the personas the boy gave ever seemed genuine.

So what could possibly be the reason the boy didn't add the training room incident in his report? He couldn't simply have forgotten; the boy was getting paid to watch over Sephiroth and make sure he didn't end up like another certain First. Which meant that, for some reason, the boy purposefully omitted the incident. But with what motivations?

His desk suddenly vibrated, and Sephiroth withdrew from his thoughts, his attention turning to the cell phone on his desk. On the display screen was the word, **PUPPY, **in bold, black letters. Sephiroth snorted; he had been wondering when Zack would end up calling.

"Aren't you on vacation?" Sephiroth asked when he picked up the phone.

"Please please please get me out of here," came the pleading voice from the other end. "I'm so bored. It's so dull. I miss my girl. I miss my missions. Hell, I even miss you." Zack paused. "Well. Only sometimes."

"I'm flattered," Sephiroth replied. "Unfortunately, it's company policy that we can't overwork our employees, and given the severity of your recent missions…"

"Oh, don't give me that. You haven't done any missions recently either, right? You know how exactly how I'm feeling."

It was true, but Sephiroth didn't voice his agreement outloud. "It's just two more weeks, Zack. Most people wouldn't complain about being forced to go to the beach."

"Yeah yeah…" the teenager grumbled. "Anyway. Hey, SOLDIER exams are tomorrow, right? The fifteenth, right? You excited?"

He only hoped Zack wasn't this careless with missions details. "Zack, the SOLDIER exams were on the fifth."

There is a short, horrifed pause from the other end. "… _What_. No. Wait. Fifth? That's like… two weeks ago!" Sephiroth resisted the urge to compliment the boy on his fine calendar skills. "Hey, can you check if a certain cadet passed?"

Sephiroth turned to his computer and pulled up the employee database. "Name?"

"Cloud Strife."

Sepiroth paused in his typing. _Zack _knew Cloud? And was close enough with the boy to check up on him? That was certainly curious. "It appears that he failed."

He could hear Zack sigh. "Oh man, I bet he's _devastated_. I wish I could be there to cheer him up."

"You could just call him," Sephiroth suggested.

"Yeah, but Cloud doesn't have a cell phone," Zack said regretfully. "I guess it'll have to wait till I get back. You sure you can't magically pull up a very, very, important mission that requires my expertise? Preferably in Midgar?"

"No," Sephiroth said flatly. _Otherwise I would be on that mission and away from this desk. _"How do you even know this cadet?"

"Oh Cloud? Met on a couple missions back. He was the only one who could keep up with me," Zack noted with pride. Sephiroth perked up and stored the little tidbit of information. "Well, when it came to travelling through the environment, that is…"

"And you just… kept in touch with him since then?"

"Hey, you don't need to make it sound like it's weird to have a cadet as a friend," Zack protested. "Cloud's a cool kid. A little quiet, but really cool. I'll introduce you one day."

As Zack chatted a little more, Sephiroth found he couldn't really get anything more from Zack about Cloud. When he finally hung up, Sephiroth couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. Even a guy as friendly as Zack couldn't get anything from Cloud but 'a little quiet, but really cool'? If even Zack couldn't decode Cloud, then where could Sephiroth even start to figure the boy out?

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. What was he doing. This was a _sixteen-year old boy_. If Sephiroth could handle Shinra executives, he could handle a cadet, no matter what happened. No need to overthink it.

Still…

**ch 11 cloud finds a girl worth fighting for**

"Cloud? You've seemed a little tense, lately."

Of course, Aerith always seemed to notice, and she seemed to have no qualms about pointing it out. She never tip-toed around him, not the way other people would when they noticed his moods. And somehow, because it was Aerith, Cloud never seemed to mind her inquisitive concern.

"I just… have a feeling something bad is about to happen," he answered. As soon as the words came out, he couldn't but help but feel a little lame at how the words sounded, but it was the best way he could word it. The looming shadow that had been hanging over him the past few weeks had finally latched onto him, claws digging into his shoulder with a vengeance. He didn't forget—or rather, _couldn't _forget—what was going to happen. And now, the time has passed by so quickly. Now, there was only a week left until Nibelheim.

Aerith didn't mind his gloom, and took it in her own cheerful stride. "How bad?"

But he didn't even know how to answer that. His eyes flicker to her hair band, searching for the pearly shine of the White Materia, wondering, praying that she would never have to use it. If that was the only thing that he could prevent, the one thing he could stop from happening, it would be putting her in that position of danger. "I don't know," he finally said.

"Well…" Aerith searched around until she saw his messenger bag and reached for it. "Let's make a back-up plan."

He gave her a perplexed look. "What?"

She was already opening it and shuffling through the papers. "Come on, Cloud. I see you writing all those to-do lists and outlines of whatever you're planning. This should be right up your alley." She fishes out some scrap paper and a pencil. "But it'll be better. Because this time, I'm helping."

"Okay…" Still a little lost, he came closer as she began to write on it in large, loopy letters: _THE BACK-UP PLAN (TO SAVE THE WORLD WITH)_.

"So, first, what are our goals?" Aerith looked at him.

"Well…" He began to feel himself warm up to her enthusiasm. "Fill the city the flowers, right?"

She gave him a particularly bright smile and began to write quickly. "Right! Our number one priority! So how do we go about accomplishing it? Tools? Connections? And of course, obstacles?"

"Reeve would be useful."

"Right."

"And you."

"Of course. And Shalua!" Aerith's paper was quickly evolving into a web as she started to list it everything. "Obstacles?"

"Money. And land."

"Right, the Mako. Which brings us to priority number two!" With a flourish, she drew a large area and started writing in the big, block letters for the second label. "Overthrow… Shinra."

"Or, make them use their powers for good."

Aerith gives him a stern look. "Cloud, we're being _realistic _here."

"Yes, ma'am."

She gives a satisfied nod, though Cloud can see she's fighting a smile off. "So how do two little civilians like us overthrow Shinra?"

"Well, their power comes from their monopoly on electricity, so if we found another source of energy…" This was always the sticking point with Cloud: no matter how he planned, he never really knew how he could find something to replace Mako. Even in his own future, there hadn't been anything substantial .

But to his surprise, Aerith brightened. "Oh! I can do that!" she said, and wrote her name down under the heading.

"You _can_?" Cloud repeated, a little shocked.

"Well, not exactly, but I've been thinking about it. Instead of trying to find a replacement for Mako…maybe there's a less harmful way to harness it? Like Materia—they take time and their difficult to wield, but their energy is renewable and doesn't require extra drain from the planet." She looked at time for his opinion. "Or at least, would be able to tide over a possible switch to different energy sources. Because we can't just drop Mako immediately—we don't have anything to replace all the technology with."

Her idea definitely did seem…simple. And a reasonable step to take. "And you can do this?" Cloud asked.

"Well, you know, I understand the Planet better because I'm a— " She paused quickly. "I've been working with Shalua. Now, let's move on. We have our goals: now, what shall be our back-up plan if any of these fail?" She looked at him. "You got anything?"

Cloud noticed her slip-up and her quick change of topic but didn't comment. Of course she wouldn't tell him she was a Cetra—she had known for less than a month.

"I've got nothing."

They thought for a little while longer, when after a few minutes, Aerith turned to Cloud. "I know! You can seduce and marry a rich person like they do in those romance books! And then we can use that money for funding!"

Cloud gave her an incredulous look. "Me?"

"Well, _I _have a boyfriend. Take one for the team, Cloud."

"That _can't _be our only back-up option."

"But you agree that it's a possibility?" Before he can protest, she wrote it down in the middle and circled it several times. "There! What next?"

**ch 12 Sephiroth is as swift as a coursing river… **

Despite his headaches becoming worse and more frequent, Sephiroth still refused to say a word to Hojo. Instead, he took up a particularly delightful habit of munching on chocolate to combat the headaches, which oddly enough, remained to be an effective remedy. Yet the other man seemed to notice something was off and had taken to giving more tests, more suspicious looking cocktails. Sephiroth had asked what exactly was wrong with him, but the scientists waved it off, scuttling off with his own odd mutterings.

But instead of worrying about that, Sephiroth started watching Cloud more closely. Though to be honest, there hadn't been much to watch; the boy was conscientous in whatever work he was given, never surfed the internet, never made personal calls. He either worked, or read.

It wasn't until the middle of the week when something finally happened.

"Cloud! So this is where your office is."

Sephiroth stopped in his work and looked up. He knew that voice. He couldn't exactly recall exactly who it belonged to, but it was someone important… someone who could potentially be dangerous…

"Reno…?" came Cloud's confused reply, from the other side of the wall. An image of the red-haired, brash Turk flashed in Sephiroth's mind in recognition. So it was _that_ Turk.

But how did Cloud know _him_? It couldn't be Cloud really _was_ conspiring with Heidegger … could it?

Sephiroth pulled up his camera of the other room and watched the scene. Reno was leaning against the door casually, while Cloud… he looked a bit different. His eyes somehow looked a bit wider, and his expression suddenly looked a little…timid? Was he seeing things right?

"You work at Shinra?" Cloud asked.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm part of… _security_. Yeah." Reno's vague answer puzzled Sephiroth for a bit before it clicked. Of course Tseng would plant someone to pose as Cloud's friend, all the while monitoring him. And of course, it would be _Reno_, out of all people. Reno sauntered over and seated himself on Cloud's desk. "So. About the other night. … You alright?"

Sephiroth watched in rapt attention, having never quite seen Cloud show _any _emotion, much less, fear. Yet here the boy was, biting his lip in hesitation as he crossed his arms alsmot as if… As if he really was the timid boy that Sephiroth had thought him to be at first.

_It's an act_, Sephiroth suddenly realized. _It's all an act and the Turk is falling for it_ completely_. _Which meant… Cloud _knew _he was being monitored. The boy certainly was turning out to be shrewder than he seemed.

So, at the very least, the teenager certainly wasn't working for Heidegger.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Cloud mumbled, his head down as if ashamed. "You were right. It was… nothing. Guess I just got a little nervous."

Reno only grinned. "Don't worry about it! Everyone gets freaked out in the slums." The older boy turned serious. "But hey, don't ever hesitate to call if you think you see something suspicious. I mean, people exaggerate the danger of the slums, but sometimes, the things they say are true. You can't really ever be too careful, amirite?"

Cloud nodded. "… Thanks, Reno."

"No problem! You and Little Miss Flower Girl are under my protection!" Reno gave a wide, confident grin. "Anyway, gotta get back... I'll see you around, Cloud!"

As soon as the Turk stepped out of the room, Cloud's persona melted off him and the stone-face secretary was back. Sephiroth couldn't help but marvel at the boy's skill. He hadn't overdone it, and only used little details to cement the performance, crossing his arms, hunching a little bit. And it made all the difference.

Sephiroth suddenly flashed to the training room incident, Cloud looking down, saying he felt unconfident around the other cadets, didn't feel comfortable training in the same room. It had been the same expression, the forlorn and insecure tone of the voice… The boy had been _playing_ him, trying to throw him off.

But throw him off what? Why would Cloud want people to view him as weak and bullied? If it was him… Sephiroth linked his hands, trying to imagine himself in the situation. If it was him… he'd only play that role to get people to overlook him. Ignore him. Underestimate him.

Sephiroth turned his chair, facing the door with a thoughtful look. Cloud Strife was turning out to be the quite the puzzle. Who could have known that when he randomnly hired the boy that day that it could have turned out like this?

Still, the mystery intrigued him somewhat.

So when Cloud clocked out for the day, Sephiroth made his decision and waited for a few minutes.

Then he got up, cleaned up his desk, and followed.


	11. 11 mysterious as the dark side of the

**mysterious as the dark side of the moon… pt.2**

Sephiroth hadn't expected to find himself led into a small, abandoned alley. But then again, he had learned to stop expecting to predict his odd secretary.

The boy had moved among the crowds quickly and was far mor familiar with the slums than Sephiroth, forcing him to often compromise being inconspicuous just to catch up. It was only when he found himself making a circle around the same neighborhood that he realized that the boy _knew_ he was being followed and was trying to throw him off.

Yet, when Cloud finally lead him to a small alley and turned to face him, it seemed that the boy didn't realize _who _had been following him, if his look of surprise was anything to go by. "Sir…" he stuttered out. "Why are you… _following _me?" He paused. "Have I done something wrong?"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, and wondered how it could play out. Could he claim that he was just in the neighborhood and happened to see the boy? It frustrated the man that he hadn't prepared a back-up plan; he hadn't even _thought _to think up an excuse. The possibility that the boy would actually notice him hadn't even crossed his mind.

"You are not what you seem, Cloud Strife," he finally said. The boy's eyes seem to darken at that. "I'll be frank; I think you are a spy for AVALANCHE."

_That_, Cloud had obviously not been expecting. Feeling a surprising amount of satisfaction, Sephiroth watched how the boy's innocent façade broke down, incredulity flashing across his face before he quickly schooled his expression into difference. But the mask had broken, if only for a second.

"You think… I'm a spy," he finally repeated, deadpan. "Not to be disrespectful, sir, but we've barely spoken words to each other."

"Which is a curious thing, don't you think?" Sephiroth remarked. "You say you're in Shinra to climb the corporate ladder, but I've yet to see you do any sort of networking. And me, out of all people, would probably be your best connection, right?"

"You are… intimidating to talk to," Cloud answered after a pause, though a bit woodenly, in Sephiroth's opinion. Somehow, he didn't believe the boy thought that at all. "Surely that can't be the only reason."

"No, there are others. For example, it's odd that you would train in isolation; it seems to be more as if you're hiding your skills rather than unconfidence in them." Before Cloud could respond, he continued on. "Also, there's the way you interact with people. Like with that Turk yesterday, you pretend to be oblivious and easily nervous, but anyone who actually looks can see it's all _an act_."

Cloud didn't say anything. In the few seconds of pause, Sephiroth could see the boy's eyes harden, and oddly enough, he looked much older that way. And then, suddenly, he could see a change in the teenager's expression. Almost as if he had just made some sort of decision, Cloud let out a silent sigh and his perplexed, innocent look drained from his face.

"It's just… easier getting by when people underestimate you," he finally said, sounding oddly tired. "Doesn't make me a spy."

"You didn't put what happened in the training room in you r report. Why?"

Cloud wrinkled his mouth in distaste. "I'm not getting involved in your office politics. I just need this job until…" He stopped. "Until I can find a better one."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Then shall I put you in another company? I have some friends and a reference from me should surely get you anywhere…"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and straightened up in offense. "I'll get where I need to be by myself, thanks." Still, Sephiroth didn't miss the brief look of alarm that flashed in the boy's eyes; that was what he needed. The boy needed this job for some reason—and he was going to find out.

But before Sephiroth could press the boy any further, a scream suddenly tore threw the air. They immediately turned towards the source and when Sephiroth's gaze fell upon the sight, his face drained of all colour. His hand was on the Masamune without another thought.

_Genesis clones._

Yet even faster than Sephiroth, Cloud had flown past him in a sprint, hands holding two short knives that hadn't been there before, and right before his very eyes, the boy was running towards the clone in his way without hesitation. Sephiroth watched, curiously mesmerized at the boy's swift movements. He was graceful but efficient. He didn't make a showy effort to take down the clone, only aimed a strike at his opponent's knee and then as the clone lost its balance momentarily, a decisive hit was knocked at the base of its head.

_The boy is… good,_ Sephiroth noted to himself with surprise. But just as Sephiroth shook himself out of his stupor, Cloud went running, his face scarily focused on his direction. Before Sephiroth could even follow him, another clone was on him and with a curse, Sephiroth turned around the face his opponent.

"_Die._"

The clone fell down without even a chance to blink. But when Sephiroth turned back around, Cloud was already gone.

**ch 13 cloud is late for a very important date**

He had forgotten that this happened. Nibelheim, he could recall with perfect clarity. But everything else that happened around that time period was a blur, and now as he ran towards Sector Five with all he could muster, he cursed himself for being so careless. How in the world could he have _forgotten?_

_Aerith, please be okay…_

It took too long for him to arrive at the church, too long weaving through the screaming crowds, the masses upon masses of clones attacking, and by the time he got there, the area was already empty. He skidded to a stop and suddenly felt the eerie silence descend upon him, chilling him to the bone.

And then he saw the blood on the ground, the trail leading right inside.

_No…_

"Aerith!" he called out, rushing in. His voice echoed in the empty room. With a drowning sense of horror, he looked around and saw all the cracks and holes that hadn't been in the walls before. The flowers were all trampled upon, the chairs in a horrid mess. "Aerith!" he called again, desperately.

He couldn't have… he couldn't have let this happen. Not _again_.

And then, there was a small whisper of a voice from the corner.

"Cloud?"

He whipped around immediately, his heart in his throat, when his eyes fell on her. _Alive_. "Aerith," he choked out with relief.

But then he stopped when he actually saw her. She was cradling a body in her lap. On closer look, Cloud realized it was Tseng; to his horror, he couldn't tell if the pale man was unconscious or dead. Aerith looked just as worse. Her normally white dress was soaked with with the horrifying crimsons stain of blood and her eyes were wide and unseeing. In the hand that wasn't gently holding Tseng's head, she held what seemed to be the Turk's gun, her grip tight and white.

_Shalua's going to teach me how to shoot a gun_, the girl's voice echoed excitedly in his head.

Cloud rushed over and gently knelt beside her. "Aerith? Are you okay?" He reached his hand over to the gun and slowly took the object away. Her hand immediately became limp. "What happened?"

"Those… people started attacking," she said shakily, her voice cracked and barely above a whisper. When she turned her gaze on him, her viridian eyes had never looked so broken. " Tseng. He tried to protect me… I couldn't leave him. But more of them came… and I… and I…" Her gaze fell upon the gun. "I couldn't let them…"

Cloud took her hand gently. "You... did well," was the feeble phrase that finally came out of his mouth.

She didn't respond, only looked down.

This should have never happened. She should have never known what it was like to kill someone. But what else could he say in this position? So Cloud instead placed his hand on the Turk's neck and searched for a pulse.

"… He's alive," Cloud said, feeling the weak beat against his finger. He looked at Aerith encouragingly. "You saved his life."

It was as if those were the magic words that broke the spell. Suddenly, the blank look from her face had broken and she immediately melted into him, her hand grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him as she nestled her face in his shoulder. Sobs wracked her shoulders and he felt the hot tears soaking into his clothing as she cried, quiet but full of despair.

"I miss him…"he could make out between her unintelligble mumbles. "I miss him _so _much… I just… _ I just…"_

He didn't say anything more.

**cloud is late for a very important date pt.2**

Aerith refused to leave Tseng's side, to the point that she insisted on sleeping in the hospital. However, Cloud worked out a compromise with Elmyra that he would escort Aerith to and from the hospital. Sephiroth had also taken time to visit the other cities that had been attacked, so Cloud usually spent the day sitting with Aerith anyway.

They were mostly silent, and Cloud preferred it that way. He knew he only had four days left, until Sephiroth would get back and announce a mission to Nibelheim. He knew he would have only the small stretch of time to destroy Jenova before Sephiroth found her and it was unlikely he'd make it to her chamber with his strength.

But he would do it. He had to.

Before he knew it, the days were gone. Tseng had woken up and was doing fine. Anytime now, Sephiroth would be coming back to the office. Anytime now, he would be announcing a new mission. And Cloud would make sure he was coming along.

As Cloud dropped Aerith off outside of Tseng's room, he glanced over at her and realized that it might be the last time he saw her. Suddenly, he wanted to go back to the beginning of thd dream, when he was just outside of her door and she had no idea who he was.

"You're a good friend, Aerith," he said suddenly. It was as close as goodbye he found the words for. But of course, she couldn't know what he was talking about.

"He deserves it," she said softly before going in.

And so he left and was about to walk off, when he realized there was someone else waiting in the hallway. Cloud paused, and gave him a curious look.

"Are you going to go in?" he asked.

Reno shook his head. "No, I was just… dropping by." The pensive look on the older boy's face was beyond unnerving, but after a second, Reno brightened up and gave Cloud a sideways look. "Yo. Let's catch lunch."

They found themselves at the hospital cafeteria, which was, admittedley, bland and a little suspicious tasting. But Cloud knew they both weren't here for the food anyway.

"So you know Tseng?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah… I guess you can say that," Reno answered. "I didn't think he would ever be a man to ever get hurt like that but hey, if it had to be for anyone, I suppose he would choose her." Reno gave Cloud a sly look. "Tseng's sorta got a crush on Aerith."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Should you really be telling me this?"

"Probably not," Reno replied cheerfully. "So how have you been?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'm on vacation right now. Not much to do." He took a short sip of his orange juice, immediately blanching at how sour it was. "You?"

"Busy," Reno admitted. "More and more monsters have been showing up around Midgar, and workers have been disappearing from the reactors." The older man gave a sigh. "Man, it's really great timing to have _both _Firsts gone."

Cloud stopped, Reno's statements echoing strangely in his head, sounding oddly familiar. But Reno didn't seem to notice Cloud's pause, and kept talking. "Actually, what's weird is that this is not the first place it happened, too. Like, a while back, we got the same reports from his place in the middle of no where? Niflheim or something."

Cloud's blood ran cold. "Nibelheim?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. Nibelheim," Reno said, snapping his fingers as he remembered. "Anyway, we were going to send some troops soon, but then, two weeks, they start saying it stopped. And then, suddenly, the same thing happens around Midgar." Reno leaned in, and spoke in a low voice. "It's like, whatever happened, just suddenly… _migrated_."

Two weeks ago, Reno said. Cloud's head was running in overdrive—did he do anything that might have possibly changed things? Two weeks ago, two weeks ago, nothing happened two weeks ago except… the training incident. When Jenova had suddenly taken over Sephiroth.

And as Cloud thought about it, a horrifying idea took hold.

And then he remembered: anytime now, Sephiroth would be coming back.


	12. 12 sephiroth goes, off with her head!

**last chapter: sephiroth goes, "off with her head!"**

_What in the world had Genesis been looking for_?

It was the one question that ran through Sephiroth's head as he had surveyed all the different cities that the clones had visited, yet with every visit, he was no closer to coming up with an answer. When he finally got to Junon and met with Zack, he found himself tired.

"Go back, Zack," Sephiroth had told him. "Go visit your girlfriend."

Hours later, Sephiroth found himself on taking the same train home. At the very least, the Turks had been bugging him to investigate something and he could, at least temporarily, distract himself with that. Something about thinking about Genesis frustrated and unnerved Sephiroth in a way he never wanted to admit.

But something was off when he arrived in his office. Immediately, he noticed that Cloud wasn't there as the boy should have been but somehow, everything felt… chilled. It was if he wasn't seeing things with his own eyes, and everything was distant, almost unreal.

_Find me, my son…_

Without even knowing where he was going, Sephiroth found himself walking and before long, he distantly recognized the halls as the ones leading to the Science Department. Distnatly, he realized that there were bodies along the floor (Dead? Alive?), yet the alarm wasn't going off.

And finally, he was right in front of the door to Hojo's lab.

_There you go…_

His hand reached out, touched the handle.

And then a yell ripped through the air.

Lucidity washed over Sephiroth like a earthquake and with a jolt, he pushed the door open, just in time to see Hojo pull out a syringe out of Cloud's arm with a victorious swing of his arm

"Hee hee hee! I doubt you will survive a batch of pure mak—_Oh_."

It all happened too fast for Sephiroth to even process, Cloud suddenly reaching for a cracked beaker and cracking it against the scientist's head. The older man didn't even let out a cry as he fell, his face frozen in his triumphant cackle as his body hit the ground.

And then he was dead.

"What's... going on?" Sephiroth found himself saying, his mind suddenly in a haze, only barely just catching the details of his surroundings. Destroyed lab equipment. Broken samples. Bodies on the floor, pale faces.

The boy turned to look at him, surprise morphing into pure panic as his eyes fell upon. "No…" Cloud let out. "You shouldn't be here…"

And then Sephiroth saw it-and honestly, how could he have _not_ seen it earlier, it was _magnificent-_the glowing tank on the side of the room. Sephiroth completely forgot about Cloud, turning towards the object, mesmerized. Nothing else in the room mattered. No one else mattered. No one but the woman within that tank, who somehow seemed so familiar, that he could almost just sound out her name on the tip of his tongue. He stepped closer, and he felt that chilled feeling descend upon him again as his eyes flew to the nameplate on the woman's forehead: _JENOVA._

"Mother?"

He didn't even realize that cracked whisper was his own.

_You'll protect me, won't you?_

He was just about to lay a hand on a tank, when he suddenly saw movement out of the corner of his eye. On pure gut instinct, Masamune was out in a flash and steel met steel, the noise singing out as Sephiroth found himself face-to-face with Cloud. Sephiroth found himself looking upon the boy with wonder, amazed that he was still able to _stand_ after taking that injection of mako. It was clearly straining the boy, several droplets of sweat glistening along Cloud's ash-stricken face.

Yet the will he saw burning in the boy's eyes almost took his breath away, for just a moment.

But Sephiroth's amazement was quickly replaced by pure rage when he remembered just _what_ Cloud Strife was standing in the way of. He narrowed his eyes on the boy, a cold, calculating wave of fury washing over him. "Don't stand in my _way," _he ground out.

Sephiroth swung his sword without mercy, aiming for the boy's chest, when he finds himself blocked again. The impact propagated throughout his body, and he can't help a small jolt of shock; Sephiroth hadn't been holding back. His gaze quickly flew to the other in utter confusion. The boy… should have been _dead _from that strike. He shouldn't have been fast enough to block the strike, and he _certainly _shouldn't be strong enough to hold his own against Sephiroth.

But as Sephiroth looked into Cloud's glowing cerulean eyes, one sudden thought gave him pause. Cloud couldn't have … adjusted to the mako? Already?

A smirk crossed Cloud's face and Sephiroth fleetingly realized this was the first time he had ever seen any genuine expression on the boy's face. "'Don't get in my way', huh?" The boy snorted. "Funny. That's _my _line."

And then he attacked.

Sephiroth was only barely able to hold off all the hits, and each collision shocked him as much as it fired him up. Not only was Cloud adjusting to the effects of the mako, no it more than that. The boy… was _strong_. More than strong. The boy was _matching his every hit_.

And to think the boy had been hiding his skill under his nose the whole time.

_Who in the world _are _you, Cloud Strife?_

Too late, Sephiroth realized that he slipped up, getting himself caught up in the fight, losing himself to the fire and the adrenaline that electrified him as he found his every move met and returned with equal fervor. It had been too long since he had felt like this, not since … not since Genesis and Angeal. Or maybe not even then.

Maybe he had never truly had an equal.

Until now.

And when that one thought gave him the barest pause, that slightest jolt of instinctual hesitation of the unknown, Cloud took his chance and broke through Sephiroth's defenses, his sword moving fluidly to knock Masamune away, landing its tip at his throat.

The world paused.

Sephiroth took the short breath of silence to just look at Cloud, only just now realizing what bad shape the boy was in. His limbs were shaking, the sweat had an intense sheen, and it seemed as if the blood had drained from his entire body.

And he had _still_ beat Sephiroth in that state. The _fucking prodigy._

"Are you going to kill me?" Sephiroth finally asked.

Never had Cloud's face ever looked so honest to Sephiroth as a whirlwind of emotion seemed to explode on the boy's face. It was all too fast and too restrained for Sephiroth to even read, but if there was one thing that Sephiroth knew he could recognize, it was _adrenaline._ No matter how the teenager tried to dial down his facial expressions, Sephiroth could see it. Cloud had enjoyed the fight just as much as he did.

Finally, a frown settled on the boy's face. "You're… not my target." The words came out constricted, tense. And then he put down his blade and turned back towards the capsule. "And… she's _not _your mother."

_LIES!_

A howling wind seemed to gather around Sephiroth, and there was a sudden explosion of pain throughout his chest. He buckled down as the feeling spread, almost as if it was trying to claw its way out, or carve a place for itself in his body. The screeching noise intensified and Sephiroth near blacked out from the sound alone.

But then, his body wasn't his anymore.

_My sweet darling boy, you'll protect me, won't you?_

Sephiroth found his hand reaching for the Masamune, slow and tortuous in its movements. He marveled at how it all felt, how soft and hazy everything had suddenly become. And silent. There was nothing but him… and her.

There was nothing more he needed.

As he watched Cloud, back still to him, raise his sword towards the tank in slow motion, a sudden clarity filled him and his energy returned. He knew what he needed to do.

_Kill the boy…_

Sephiroth slowly started to rise up, not making even a noise as he drew back his sword, when his glance fell across a beaker and caught his own reflection.

Cat-slit eyes.

Cloud's expression of fear from the training room incident suddenly appears in his mind, fuzzy and unclear, almost as if he was underwater. And then the memory comes up unbidden; the pain, the ice-cold hand that had gripped onto him…

Those eyes weren't _his_.

But his body was already moving on its own.

"_No_!"

Cloud heard Sephiroth's yell a split second too late—he turned around, only to have his chest completely pierced through the Masamune. He didn't make a noise; he didn't even have a look a surprise or shock as the blade moved fluidly into his body.

Instead, then there was something else.

There was the sound of the cracking of glass, the sound of liquid rushing out.

And the sound of a woman's scream.

The last Sephiroth remembered, before the darkness finally took him over, was the taste of chocolate on his tongue.

**epilogue**

She didn't know why she came here, but something within her just _called _to her, singing, asserting that she needed to be here. Even when Zack had texted her and asked to meet up, she had ignored the message. There was something here for her in the church.

Right now.

So Aerith stood, not sure what she was waiting for, when she started to hear it. Heavy footsteps, harsh breathing, and suddenly, she saw Cloud in the doorway. At the sight of him, she let out a shocked gasp and ran towards, just as he toppled forward.

There were cuts and slashes all over his body, though the most obvious wound was the one in the middle of his chests, looking like a black hole of blood. She pushed her jacket onto the wound in a panic, yet despite her frenzied movements, the blood continued to flow, betraying and warm.

And yet his body was turning _so cold_.

"I didn't even… Sephiroth… he killed her…"

"Cloud, don't speak," she ordered. "Just… conserve your energy."

But he didn't hear her, or maybe he just ignored her, because he was holding on her hand, and absurdly enough, smiling. Smiling as if he was the happiest man in the world. "Aerith…" he said, slowly. "I… I had a dream. That the world was nearly destroyed. That you… died." He looked at her with wide eyes. "But… You're alive… right?"

A slow horror filled her every bone. "Yes, Cloud," she responded gently. "I'm… alive."

"Good…"

His eyes were clouding over, and yet, glowing (_glowing_?) so brightly at the same time, staring unseeingly into the distance.

"Cloud?"

No response. She held onto him tightly, as if that would stop him from leaving.

"_Cloud_?"

No. She wouldn't let him die like this. As if she was on fire, adrenaline suddenly was pulsing within her every vein. She looked around frantically at everything, anything, just looking for _something _that she could use… and then her eyes fell on her cell phone.

She didn't even hesitate as she went to dial the number.

"Tseng?" Her voice came out in shuddering breaths and she could barely get the words past her choked up throat. But still, she forced the sounds out regardless, ignoring the hot, burning feeling in her eyes, ignoring how her hand shook so much she nearly dropped the phone. "Do you remember that offer you made to me? Tell them ... Tell them I've changed my mind."

"Aerith? What are you... are you _crying?"_

**. end .**

Note: There are two planned sequels. The next is the series will be called 'Annotations'.


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